D3.js vs Plotly vs Plottable.js

Overview

D3.js

Stacks2.0K

Followers1.7K

Votes653

GitHub Stars111.7K

Forks22.9K

Plotly.js

Stacks399

Followers694

Votes69

GitHub Stars17.9K

Forks1.9K

Plottable.js

Stacks4

Followers33

Votes0

GitHub Stars3.0K

Forks227

D3.js vs Plotly vs Plottable.js: What are the differences?

Introduction: When it comes to data visualization libraries, D3.js, Plotly, and Plottable.js are popular choices. Each of these libraries has its strengths and differences that cater to different needs of developers and users.

Customizability: D3.js provides the most customization options as it is a low-level library that allows developers to create unique and complex visualizations from scratch. Plotly, on the other hand, offers a level of customization through its API but is generally more focused on providing out-of-the-box solutions for various chart types. Plottable.js falls in between, offering a balance of customization options while maintaining a level of simplicity in chart creation.
Interactivity: Plotly shines in terms of interactivity, providing built-in features for creating interactive visualizations that can be easily configured through its API. D3.js also offers extensive interactivity options but requires more manual coding for implementation. Plottable.js focuses on providing basic interactivity features, making it simpler to create interactive elements compared to D3.js but lacking the advanced capabilities of Plotly.
Community and Documentation Support: D3.js has a large and active community with extensive documentation and resources available, making it easier for new users to learn and troubleshoot issues. Plotly also has a supportive community and well-documented API, ensuring users can find solutions to problems or seek guidance. Plottable.js, while not as widely used as D3.js or Plotly, still has a dedicated community that provides support and documentation for users.

In Summary, D3.js offers the most customization options, Plotly excels in interactivity features, and Plottable.js strikes a balance between customization and simplicity in chart creation, with varying levels of community and documentation support across the libraries.

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Advice on D3.js, Plotly.js, Plottable.js

Steve

Lead Software Tools Engineer at Leonardo UK

Oct 30, 2020

Review

I would specifically recommend basing your application on Pandas which will handle the vast majority of the work for you. You will be amazed at what you will be able to get done with only a few lines of code.

Pandas can load the data from either Excel xslx files or csv files (and a lot of other places)

If you structure your code well you can have a cross platform command line program, a GUI desktop program, a Jupyter Notebook and a web service all with the vast majority of the code in common.

A jupyter notebook is a great place to start developing your code and may be all that you need.

Some plug-ins & resources that can help:

pandas-summary (for a rapid overview of the data): https://github.com/mouradmourafiq/pandas-summary
pandasgui (for exploring what you would like to do): https://github.com/adamerose/pandasgui
Pandas-Bokeh (plotting): https://github.com/PatrikHlobil/Pandas-Bokeh
plot.ly (plotting): https://plotly.com/python/pandas-backend/
wxPython (for a desktop GUI): https://wxpython.org/

8.83k views8.83k

Comments

Ayaskant

SSE-II at Akamai

Oct 25, 2019

Needs advice

I want to get suggestions on these 2 open source js libraries (D3.js & echarts) that help in creating charts or graphs on the UI. Which one will be better for bar graphs. Which is easy to learn and start with? Which provides better features and community support?

My requirements are 1 - Plot data in X-Y axis graph where x-axis will present time till seconds level and Y-Axis will present the data corresponding to that time.

2 - Zoom-in and zoom out feature.

56k views56k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

D3.js	Plotly.js	Plottable.js
It is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. Emphasises on web standards gives you the full capabilities of modern browsers without tying yourself to a proprietary framework.	It is a standalone Javascript data visualization library, and it also powers the Python and R modules named plotly in those respective ecosystems (referred to as Plotly.py and Plotly.R). It can be used to produce dozens of chart types and visualizations, including statistical charts, 3D graphs, scientific charts, SVG and tile maps, financial charts and more.	Built on top of D3, Plottable gives you a set of flexible, premade components that you can combine and rearrange to build charts.
Declarative Approach for Individual Nodes Manipulation; Functions Factory; Web Standards; Built-in ELement Inspector to Debug; Uses SVG, Canvas, and HTML; Data-driven approach to DOM Manipulation; Voronoi Diagrams; Maps and topo.	Feature parity with MATLAB/matplotlib graphing; Online chart editor; Fully interactive (hover, zoom, pan); SVG and WebGL backends; Publication-quality image export	-
Statistics
GitHub Stars 111.7K	GitHub Stars 17.9K	GitHub Stars 3.0K
GitHub Forks 22.9K	GitHub Forks 1.9K	GitHub Forks 227
Stacks 2.0K	Stacks 399	Stacks 4
Followers 1.7K	Followers 694	Followers 33
Votes 653	Votes 69	Votes 0
Pros & Cons
Pros 195 Beautiful visualizations 103 Svg 92 Data-driven 81 Large set of examples 61 Data-driven documents Cons 11 Beginners cant understand at all 6 Complex syntax	Pros 16 Bindings to popular languages like Python, Node, R, etc 10 Integrated zoom and filter-out tools in charts and maps 9 Great support for complex and multiple axes 8 Powerful out-of-the-box featureset 6 Beautiful visualizations Cons 18 Terrible document	No community feedback yet
Integrations
JavaScript React Native AngularJS React Bootstrap	Python React MATLAB Jupyter Julia	No integrations available

What are some alternatives to D3.js, Plotly.js, Plottable.js?

Highcharts

Highcharts currently supports line, spline, area, areaspline, column, bar, pie, scatter, angular gauges, arearange, areasplinerange, columnrange, bubble, box plot, error bars, funnel, waterfall and polar chart types.

Chart.js

Visualize your data in 6 different ways. Each of them animated, with a load of customisation options and interactivity extensions.

Recharts

Quickly build your charts with decoupled, reusable React components. Built on top of SVG elements with a lightweight dependency on D3 submodules.

ECharts

It is an open source visualization library implemented in JavaScript, runs smoothly on PCs and mobile devices, and is compatible with most current browsers.

ZingChart

The most feature-rich, fully customizable JavaScript charting library available used by start-ups and the Fortune 100 alike.

amCharts

amCharts is an advanced charting library that will suit any data visualization need. Our charting solution include Column, Bar, Line, Area, Step, Step without risers, Smoothed line, Candlestick, OHLC, Pie/Donut, Radar/ Polar, XY/Scatter/Bubble, Bullet, Funnel/Pyramid charts as well as Gauges.

CanvasJS

Lightweight, Beautiful & Responsive Charts that make your dashboards fly even with millions of data points! Self-Hosted, Secure & Scalable charts that render across devices.

AnyChart

AnyChart is a flexible JavaScript (HTML5) based solution that allows you to create interactive and great looking charts. It is a cross-browser and cross-platform charting solution intended for everybody who deals with creation of dashboard, reporting, analytics, statistical, financial or any other data visualization solutions.

ApexCharts

A modern JavaScript charting library to build interactive charts and visualizations with simple API.

Bokeh

Bokeh is an interactive visualization library for modern web browsers. It provides elegant, concise construction of versatile graphics, and affords high-performance interactivity over large or streaming datasets.

Related Comparisons

D3.js vs Plotly vs Plottable.js: What are the differences?

Customizability: D3.js provides the most customization options as it is a low-level library that allows developers to create unique and complex visualizations from scratch. Plotly, on the other hand, offers a level of customization through its API but is generally more focused on providing out-of-the-box solutions for various chart types. Plottable.js falls in between, offering a balance of customization options while maintaining a level of simplicity in chart creation.
Interactivity: Plotly shines in terms of interactivity, providing built-in features for creating interactive visualizations that can be easily configured through its API. D3.js also offers extensive interactivity options but requires more manual coding for implementation. Plottable.js focuses on providing basic interactivity features, making it simpler to create interactive elements compared to D3.js but lacking the advanced capabilities of Plotly.
Community and Documentation Support: D3.js has a large and active community with extensive documentation and resources available, making it easier for new users to learn and troubleshoot issues. Plotly also has a supportive community and well-documented API, ensuring users can find solutions to problems or seek guidance. Plottable.js, while not as widely used as D3.js or Plotly, still has a dedicated community that provides support and documentation for users.

D3.js vs Plotly vs Plottable.js

Overview