Why you should read React+d3.js

After an hour with React+d3.js, you’ll know how to make React and d3.js play together. You’ll know how to create composable data visualizations. You’re going to understand *why* that’s a good idea, and you will have the tools to build your own library of re-usable visualization parts. 

Ultimately, you’re going to understand whether React and d3.js fit the needs of your project.

What test readers are saying

A sharply written work that delivers technical information in a conversational and easy to digest manner. ~ Malcolm Maclean, Author of D3 Tips&Tricks

an awesome, lightweight intro ~Philip Patterson

An excellent study in how state vs props work and are use ~ Thomas J. Buhr, founder of Virtuoso

I think it is a great book! Not even a bad introduction to react. ~ Trent Earl

Why React and d3.js

React is Facebook's and Instagram's approach to writing modern JavaScript front-ends. It encourages building an app out of small re-usable components. Each is self-contained and only needs to know how to render a small bit of the interface.

But many frameworks have attempted this. Everything from Angular to Backbone and jQuery plugins. But where jQuery plugins fast become messy, Angular depends too much on HTML structure, and Backbone needs a lot of boilerplate, React has found a sweet spot.

I have found it a joy to use. Using React was the first time I have ever been able to move a piece of HTML without having to change any JavaScript.

D3.js is Mike Bostock’s infamous data visualization library used by The New York Times and many others. It is the workhorse of data visualization on the web and many charting libraries out there are based on it.

But d3.js is a fairly low-level library. You can’t just say "I have data, give me a barchart". Well you can, but it takes a few more lines of code than that. However once you get used to it, d3.js is a joy to use.

Just like React, d3.js is declarative. You tell it what you want, instead of *how* you want it. It gives you access straight to the SVG so you can manipulate your lines and rectangles at will. But d3.js isn't that great, if all you want are charts.

Which is where React comes in. Once you’ve created a histogram component, for instance, you can always get a histogram with `<Histogram {...params} />`.

Doesn’t that sound like the best? It does to me.

And it gets even better. With React you can make various graph and chart components build off the same data. This means that when your data changes, the whole visualization reacts.

Your graph changes. The title changes. The description changes. Everything changes.

D3.js can help you make data beautiful.

D3 Tips and Tricks is a book written to help those who may be unfamiliar with JavaScript or web page creation get started turning information into visualization.

Data is the new medium of choice for telling a story or presenting compelling information on the Internet and d3.js is an extraordinary framework for presentation of data on a web page.

What version of d3.js is this written for?

Version 3.x If you're looking for the latest edition of this book that was written for version 4.x you can find it here...

Is this book for you?

It's not written for experts. It's put together as a guide to get you started if you're unsure what d3.js can do. It reads more like a story as it leads the reader through the basics of line graphs and on to discover animation, tooltips, tables, interfacing with MySQL databases via PHP, sankey diagrams, force diagrams, maps and more...

Why was D3 Tips and Tricks written?

Because in the process of learning things, it's a great way to remember them if you write them down :-).

As a result, learning how to do cool stuff with D3 meant that I accumulated a sizeable number ways to help me out when the going got tricky. Then I realised that these could be useful for others who were trying out d3.js and who were at a similar knowledge level.

So here we are! A collection of tips and tricks for d3.js written by a noob for people who might consider that they're in the same situation :-).

What's in the book?

I've captured the appropriate code (in cool looking coloured text) and added in heaps of illustrations of what's going on so that you will get more traction at the start of your learning process than I did.

But wait! There's code!

There are over 50 code examples that are used in the book (with their data files) available to download (still free!) and they are also available online.

The awesome that is Open Source.

Please consider this an opportunity for you to contribute back to the Open Source community that makes products like d3.js possible. If you find something that can be improved about the book or think there's something that can be added, just let me know!

The book has a lot of information in it, but there's still more to come. Currently (at time writing) it counts up to about 580 pages, so it's not a short read but I've tried to pitch it in sections so that if you find something interesting, you can read parts in isolation. There's a sizeable amount of content on the d3noob.org blog site from the book and hopefully between the two, people will find a way that will help them improve. I have a long list of additional material that I want to add, so I'm hoping that publishing using Leanpub will allow readers to get easy notification of when updates and improvements are made.

Download the whole book just to try it out!

I'm making the manual available for free because I think it's a great way to give something back to the community as a whole, but if you find some value in the book, please consider contributing 99 cents when you download it so that Leanpub get something for hosting the book and providing such an awesome service (50 cents is their flat cut of any book sales and 99 cents is the minimum (apart from $0) that they will allow for a sale).

(Don't be put off by the button at the top saying 'Buy the ebook now'. Once you click on it, you can select any price you want including $0!)

Enjoy.

So I hope you get something out of the book, please excuse the sometimes light-hearted conversational manner in which I approach the topic and enjoy D3!

Kudos for D3 Tips and Tricks from d3noob.org;

"Thanks, super helpful!" - Davo

"Thanks for the help (reading through your book now, and it's awesome!)" - Jared

"Thank you for doing this. I've been looking for something like this for a while." - Marla

"You have just inspired me to give Sankey a fresh new face in Dex" - Patrick

"Thank you - exactly what I was looking for explained clearly and succinctly" - Anon

"Much appreciated. Excellent tutorial" - Anon

"Thanks!! This help rocks" - greencracker

"Thx for book. It's awesome." - Michael Guimet

"Thank you !! :) very very thank you." - Nuri Lee

"Thanks for your work man, it inspired me to use in my research!" - napicool

Used as a teaching resource at;

• The Dublin Institute of Technology for Data Visualization.
• The University of Nebraska