D3.js
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| Developer(s) | , Jason Davies, Jeffrey Heer, Vadim Ogievetsky, and community |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 18 February 2011 |
| Stable release |
4.7.4 / 24 March 2017
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| Repository | github |
| Development status | Active |
| Written in | JavaScript |
| Type | Data visualization, JavaScript library |
| License | BSD |
| Website | d3js |
D3.js (or just D3 for Data-Driven Documents) is a JavaScript library for producing dynamic, interactive data visualizations in web browsers. It makes use of the widely implemented SVG, HTML5, and CSS standards. It is the successor to the earlier framework. In contrast to many other libraries, D3.js allows great control over the final visual result. Its development was noted in 2011, as version 2.0.0 was released in August 2011.
D3.js is used on hundreds of thousands of websites. Some popular uses include creating interactive graphics for online news websites, information dashboards for viewing data, and producing maps from GIS map making data. In addition, the exportable nature of SVG enables graphics created by D3 to be used in print publications.
The first web browsers appeared in the early 1990s. They were initially capable of displaying static web pages only: the only way for a user to interact with the web was through clicking links and scrolling pages. There were many efforts to overcome such limitations. One of the most significant was the integration of JavaScript as the scripting language for web browsers. JavaScript gradually became the de facto standard language for creating web pages with rich user interactivity. This played a crucial role in the decision to use JavaScript as the language of D3.js.
At the same time, researchers, engineers, and practitioners from various branches of engineering and science looked for tools that would enable web browsers to visually present data within web pages. There were multiple projects with that goal, each of which had its successes and failures, and inspired the subsequent ones. The most notable examples were the Prefuse, Flare, and Protovis toolkits, which can all be considered as direct predecessors of D3.js.
Prefuse was a visualization toolkit created in 2005 that required usage of Java, and visualizations were rendered within browsers with a Java plug-in. Flare was a similar toolkit from 2007 that used ActionScript, and required a Flash plug-in for rendering.
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