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)

Time-based charts


When data value is dependent on the passing of time, a representation of the element of time must be included in the visualization. Time-based charts are the charts that animate a change in data values over a time period. Through this animation, the chart is able to graphically represent movement in values over time.

There are several time-reliant charts available through the Google Visualization API. At this time, they are the motion chart and the annotated timeline chart.

Motion chart

A motion chart is a visualization that animates the change in data over time. The data representation and animation of this chart can be displayed as three different chart types, bubble, bar, and line. The Size of the data point bubbles can also be set to represent additional data attributes. Colors, highlighted items, and motion tracking are also available as user control options on the chart.

Possibly the most important control of the Motion Chart is the button.

This button is self-explanatory...