Data

Data types

Vizzu currently supports two types of data series: dimensions and measures. Dimensions slice the data cube Vizzu uses, whereas measures are values within the cube.

Dimensions are categorical series that can contain strings and numbers, but both will be treated as strings. Temporal data such as dates or timestamps should also be added as dimensions. By default, Vizzu will draw the elements on the chart in the order they are provided in the data set. Thus we suggest adding temporal data in a sorted format from oldest to newest.

Measures at the moment can only be numerical.

Adding data

There are multiple ways you can add data to Vizzu:

• Specify data by series - column after column if you think of a spreadsheet
• Specify data by records - row after row
• Using data cube form

Elements with a missing value should contain the number zero. null, undefined and empty cells will result in an error. In case of dimensions, add '' as a value to have a category without a name.

In the first two cases, data has to be in first normal form. Here is an example of that:

Genres	Kinds	Popularity
Pop	Hard	114
Rock	Hard	96
Jazz	Hard	78
Metal	Hard	52
Pop	Smooth	56
Rock	Experimental	36
Jazz	Smooth	174
Metal	Smooth	121
Pop	Experimental	127
Rock	Experimental	83
Jazz	Experimental	94
Metal	Experimental	58

In the type parameter, you can set if a series is a dimension or a measure. Adding the type parameter is optional. If omitted, Vizzu will automatically select the type depending on the first element of the values array using the typeof operator. If the value is a number, it will be declared as a measure, in any other case, a dimension.

Specify data by series:

let data = {
    series: [{
        name: 'Genres',
        type: 'dimension',
        values: [
            'Pop', 'Rock', 'Jazz', 'Metal',
            'Pop', 'Rock', 'Jazz', 'Metal',
            'Pop', 'Rock', 'Jazz', 'Metal'
        ]
    }, {
        name: 'Kinds',
        type: 'dimension',
        values: [
            'Hard', 'Hard', 'Hard', 'Hard',
            'Smooth', 'Experimental', 'Smooth', 'Smooth',
            'Experimental', 'Experimental', 'Experimental', 'Experimental'
        ]
    }, {
        name: 'Popularity',
        type: 'measure',
        values: [114, 96, 78, 52, 56, 36, 174, 121, 127, 83, 94, 58]
    }]
};

Specify data by records:

let data = {
    series: [{
        name: 'Genres',
        type: 'dimension'
    }, {
        name: 'Kinds',
        type: 'dimension'
    }, {
        name: 'Popularity',
        type: 'measure'
    }],
    records: [
        ['Pop', 'Hard', 114],
        ['Rock', 'Hard', 96],
        ['Jazz', 'Hard', 78],
        ['Metal', 'Hard', 52],
        ['Pop', 'Smooth', 56],
        ['Rock', 'Experimental', 36],
        ['Jazz', 'Smooth', 174],
        ['Metal', 'Smooth', 121],
        ['Pop', 'Experimental', 127],
        ['Rock', 'Experimental', 83],
        ['Jazz', 'Experimental', 94],
        ['Metal', 'Experimental', 58],
    ]
};

Where records can be arrays as shown above or objects:

let data = {
    // ...
    records: [{
            Genres: 'Pop',
            Kinds: 'Hard',
            Popularity: 114
        }, {
            Genres: 'Rock',
            Kinds: 'Hard',
            Popularity: 96
        },
        // ...
    ],
};

Using data cube form:

Note

In the example below, the record Rock,Experimental,36 has been replaced with Rock,Smooth,36 in order to illustrate that only data with same dimensions can be used in the data cube form.

		Genres
		Pop	Rock	Jazz	Metal
Kinds	Hard	114	96	78	52
	Smooth	56	36	74	121
	Experimental	127	83	94	58
		Popularity

let data = {
    dimensions: [{
        name: 'Genres',
        values: ['Pop', 'Rock', 'Jazz', 'Metal']
    }, {
        name: 'Kinds',
        values: ['Hard', 'Smooth', 'Experimental']
    }],
    measures: [{
        name: 'Popularity',
        values: [
            [114, 96, 78, 52],
            [56, 36, 174, 121],
            [127, 83, 94, 58]
        ]
    }]
};

You should set the data in the first animate call:

chart.animate({
    data
});