nvd3.js as a D3 shortcut for standard charts

04/26/13 23:16:00    

By Michael Mealling

I've been using D3.js for a few things lately and, as with many things, with great expressive power comes a higher cost for doing the 'easy' things. The responses to D3 at a lunch and learn this week as part of Big Data Week was a good example of how raw D3 can be intimidating.

Enter nvd3. nvd3 is a framework for a standard charts with D3. It standardizes many D3 options so the developer can focus on more important things. That does limit the types of graphs to line, bar, scatter/bubble, and pie charts. It includes two oddballs: a 'bullet' chart and expandable trees. If your project fits in those limitations then try nvd3. It could save valuable prototyping time.