Data visualization usually refers to the visual display of quantitative information, as in statistical and information charts, plots, data maps, and so on. but it can include any kind of visual representation of data, such as mathematical graphics, path networks (subway systems, roads, electronic circuit diagrams), word clouds, musical and sound representations, timelines, geographical information systems, chemical and atomic diagrams, or any other way of coding of data using visual artifacts.
You can create any type of visualization if you use a data-driven library such as D3.js. A charting library such as Chart.js, which comes with a set of pre-configured formats, is more limited, but much easier to use.
Chart.js supports eight basic types of chart:
- Bar (horizontal and vertical)
- Line/area (including stacked)
- Radar (radial line)
- Polar area (radial bar)
- Scatter
- Bubble
- Pie
- Doughnut
It doesn't offer support for network diagrams, trees, or geographical maps, but you can create Chart.js visualizations that share data with other graphics. In Chapter 4, Creating Charts, we will create a bubble chart, representing populations of cities around the world, and plot them on a map with Chart.js.