Book Image

Google Visualization API Essentials

By : Traci Lynn Ruthkoski
Book Image

Google Visualization API Essentials

By: Traci Lynn Ruthkoski

Overview of this book

There's a lot of data in our world, and visual representations are often the best method of making sense of it all. Yet, it should not take an army of programmers and analysts to create visualizations in order to make data useful. The Google Visualization API is accessible to novice and advanced programmers alike, making data useful to more people."Google Visualization API Essentials" will show you how to create interactive data displays with very little code. The API, combined with Google Spreadsheets and Fusion Tables, is a complete system, from data management to analytical displays. Not only is it simple to learn, but the Google Visualization API can also be viewed as a first step to learning additional Google APIs."Google Visualization API Essentials" uses both methodology overviews and hands-on examples with real data to introduce chart and graph creation on the Google platform. Topics are presented from various aspects, including Google Spreadsheets and Fusion Tables, and Graphic User Interfaces. An overview of the various API development environments available to developers is also covered. Basic and advanced charts, data source connectivity, style formatting, and publishing options are also explored in depth."Google Visualization API Essentials" brings the arsenal of Google Visualizations into the web developer toolkit.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)

Summary


Spreadsheets charts and Fusion Tables are accessible entry points when starting to work with Google Visualizations. They provide insight and structure to fairly complex visualizations without requiring immense investment in learning API calls. While they do pose limitations in comparison to the API, Spreadsheets and Fusion Tables provide a simple method of creating visualizations, which can in turn be expanded by using Google API capabilities.

Note that advanced layering technique or view control customization is not part of the GUI Fusion Tables. Manipulating these advanced features, such as user defined search filters, unique styling of controls, and layer manipulation in the user interface must be developed using the Fusion Tables API, Maps API, and Visualization API. Data from Spreadsheets and particularly Fusion Tables is encouraged and these applications become primary data sources with bonus features that can only be unlocked through the API methods. Publishing options for...