@preschen/gen-vis 0.3.0 → 0.5.0

package/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+# gen-vis
+
+A declarative d3 visualisation library: a chart is described by a JSON
+definition (the *def*) and a CSV or JSON data file. Line, point, bar, stacked
+bar and area charts with legends, hover, facets and form elements are
+supported.
+
+## Usage
+
+### Standalone script
+
+`npm run lib` builds `dist-lib/gen-vis-<version>.js`. It includes Vue, d3 and
+the styles, and provides two global functions:
+
+```html
+<div class="genVis" data-def-file="/data/bev/def.json"></div>
+
+<script src="gen-vis-0.5.0.js"></script>
+<script>mountGenVisByClass('genVis')</script>
+```
+
+`mountGenVisByClass(className)` mounts all elements with the class which are
+not mounted yet, `mountGenVisElement(element)` mounts a single element. The
+props are taken from the `data-` attributes, see below.
+
+### Vue component
+
+```js
+import GenVis from '@preschen/gen-vis';
+
+app.use(GenVis);
+```
+
+```html
+<GenVis def-file="/data/bev/def.json"/>
+<GenVis :def="def" :data="rows"/>
+```
+
+`import { GenVis } from '@preschen/gen-vis'` registers the component
+locally instead. `vue` is a peer dependency, the package uses the Vue of the
+application. `mountGenVisElement` and `mountGenVisByClass` are exported as
+well.
+
+### Props
+
+| Prop       | Attribute       | Description |
+|------------|-----------------|-------------|
+| `defFile`  | `data-def-file` | url of the definition |
+| `def`      | `data-def`      | the definition, an object or a JSON string |
+| `data`     | `data-data`     | the data as rows or a CSV/JSON string, if not given it is loaded from the `data` url of the definition |
+| `debug`    | `data-debug`    | shows the prepared definition |
+
+Every visualisation has its own state, several of them can be used on a page.
+If the props change, the visualisation is loaded again. Errors are shown in
+place of the visualisation.
+
+## Definition
+
+```json
+{
+    "parent": "../shared/def.json",
+    "data": "data.csv",
+    "options": { ... },
+    "globals": { ... },
+    "mapping": { ... },
+    "plot": [ ... ],
+    "facets": { ... },
+    "formElements": [ ... ]
+}
+```
+
+Relative urls are resolved against the definition referencing them, e.g.
+`data.csv` is next to the definition file. A definition is deep merged into
+its `parent` (and its parent into its own parent), arrays are replaced, not
+merged. The merged definition is checked for common mistakes, e.g. unknown
+plot types, the findings are logged as warnings in the console.
+
+The package contains a JSON Schema of the definitions, `schema.json`. With
+`"$schema"` in a definition, editors like VS Code complete and check it:
+
+```json
+{
+    "$schema": "https://unpkg.com/@preschen/gen-vis/schema.json",
+    ...
+}
+```
+
+or with a local path, e.g. `"./node_modules/@preschen/gen-vis/schema.json"`.
+The schema also allows parts of definitions, e.g. definitions with a `parent`.
+
+### `options`
+
+`title`, `subtitle`, `footer` (HTML), `width` (the width of the container if
+not given), `height` and `margins` (`{"top", "right", "bottom", "left"}` in
+pixels). `height` can be a prop based on `totalWidth`, see [props](#props-1).
+
+`locale` sets the number and date formats of the axes and the hover, also of
+axes without `format`: `de` (the default) or `en`, or an object with a `base`
+locale and the parts which are changed, see d3's
+[formatLocale](https://d3js.org/d3-format#formatLocale) and
+[timeFormatLocale](https://d3js.org/d3-time-format#timeFormatLocale):
+
+```json
+"locale": { "base": "de", "number": { "currency": ["", " EUR"] } }
+```
+
+`timeTicks` of the object are the tick formats of time axes without `format`,
+by the interval of the date (`millisecond`, `second`, `minute`, `hour`, `day`,
+`week`, `month`, `year`).
+
+`fontFamily` sets the font, by default the css variable
+`--gen-vis-font-family` or Century Gothic, so the font of all visualisations of
+a page can be set with css:
+
+```css
+.vis { --gen-vis-font-family: Arial, sans-serif; }
+```
+
+### `mapping`
+
+Maps columns of the data to named dimensions, the plots and all other parts of
+the definition refer to these names.
+
+```json
+"y": {
+    "column": "value",
+    "type": "numeric",
+    "stacked": false,
+    "scale": { "type": "linear", "orientation": "vertical", "domain": [0, null] },
+    "axis": { "position": "left", "ticks": 8, "format": ".1f", "grid": true, "title": { "name": "€/l", "offset": 50 } },
+    "hover": { "format": ".2f" }
+}
+```
+
+- `type`: `numeric`, `date` or `categorical`. Numeric and date values which
+  are missing or invalid are `null`: they are gaps in lines and areas, points
+  and bars are not drawn, and they are not shown in the hover. Dates are
+  parsed with `Date.parse` or are timestamps.
+- `scale`: `type` is a d3 scale (`linear`, `time`, `log`, `point`, `band`,
+  ...), continuous scales need a `numeric` or `date` type, `point` and `band`
+  a `categorical` one. `orientation` (`horizontal` or `vertical`) places the
+  scale on the plot. `domain` fixes the domain, `null` entries are taken from
+  the data. `domainRel` (relative to the domain) and `domainAbs` (absolute)
+  extend it. `padding` for categorical scales.
+- `axis`: `position` (`top`, `bottom`, `left`, `right`), `ticks`, `values`
+  (fixed ticks), `format` (d3 number or time format), `rotate` (the angle of
+  the labels in degrees, positive counterclockwise, negative clockwise), `grid`
+  (lines at the ticks), `title` (`{"name", "offset"}`) and `padding`.
+- `hover`: the hover shows the values of the vertical axis at the position of
+  the mouse. On touch devices it is shown by a tap and stays until a tap
+  outside of the plot, horizontal swipes move it, vertical ones scroll the
+  page. `format` of the horizontal and vertical axis, it defaults to the
+  axis format. For categorical mappings `props` are the columns of the entries,
+  `name` by default.
+- `props`: the categories and their props, e.g. colors. `common` props are
+  used for all `manual` entries, `name` and `visible` are set by default. Only
+  visible categories are shown.
+- `legend`: a toggle for every category, `symbol` draws svg `elements` (with
+  props) of the given `size` before the name.
+- `stacked`: stacks the values of a vertical axis, see `stackedBar`.
+
+### `plot`
+
+A plot or a list of plots, drawn in order:
+
+```json
+{
+    "type": "svg:path",
+    "categories": ["nuts"],
+    "props": {
+        "stroke": "@color",
+        "fill": "none",
+        "d": { "x": "@x:scaled", "y": "@y:scaled" },
+        "highlight-stroke-width": "@highlight-stroke-width"
+    }
+}
+```
+
+- `type`: `svg:path` (a line per group, `d` with `x` and `y`), `base:area`
+  (an area per group, `d` with `x`, `y0` and `y1`), `svg:circle`, `svg:rect`,
+  `svg:line`, `svg:text` (an element per row), `bar` (props `cx` and
+  `height`, `width` defaults to the step of a categorical scale) and
+  `stackedBar` (props `x`, `y` and `width`).
+- `categories`: the rows are grouped by these mappings, the props of their
+  categories are available in the plot props.
+- `props`: svg attributes (and `text`). Props starting with `highlight-` are
+  used for the elements of the category under the mouse or the legend entry.
+
+### Props
+
+Most values of a definition can be props:
+
+- fixed values, e.g. `3` or `"none"`
+- references `"@name"`: in a plot a column of the row (e.g. `@x`), the scaled
+  value (`@x:scaled`, `@x:scaled:0` for the position of 0, `@y:st:e:scaled`
+  for the end of a stacked value), a prop of the categories (e.g. `@color`) or
+  the size of the plot (`@width`, `@innerWidth`, `@height`, `@innerHeight`)
+- `{"prop": "relative", "ref": "innerWidth", "ratio": 0.01}`: a ratio of a
+  reference
+- `{"prop": "steps", "ref": "totalWidth", "steps": [{"cut": 0, "value": 220}, {"cut": 550, "value": 250}]}`:
+  the value of the last step with a cut below the reference
+
+Objects without `prop` are nested props, e.g. `d` of a path.
+
+### `facets`
+
+A plot for every category of `dim` (the name of a mapping with `props`), in
+`cols` columns. The mappings listed in `scales` share their scale across all facets.
+`cols` can be a prop based on `totalWidth`, `scales` a reference to `globals`.
+
+### `formElements` and `globals`
+
+Form elements change `globals`, e.g. the shared scales of the facets. An entry
+with a `mapping` also patches the mappings while it is selected, e.g. to switch
+the column of an axis:
+
+```json
+"globals": { "column": "value" },
+"formElements": [{
+    "id": "column", "name": "Wert", "ref": "column", "type": "switch",
+    "values": [
+        { "id": "value", "name": "Wert", "value": "value" },
+        { "id": "share", "name": "Anteil", "value": "share", "mapping": { "y": { "column": "share" } } }
+    ]
+}]
+```
+
+## Development
+
+```sh
+npm install
+npm run dev     # dev server, the definition shown by dev.html is set in src/globals.js
+npm test        # unit tests, rendering and schema check of all definitions in data/
+npm run build   # es module for bundlers in dist/
+npm run watch   # rebuilds dist/ on changes, e.g. for `npm link`
+npm run lib     # standalone script in dist-lib/
+npm run deploy  # builds and uploads the standalone script
+```
+
+`lib.html` shows the embedding with the dev server. The examples in `data/`
+are rendered by the tests, so they have to stay valid.