Archive for February, 2008

Sample datasets I am trying to import

Published
by
msa
on February 21, 2008
in website
. 0 Comments

I am trying to collect sample datasets to test in OpenVisuals.org. As of that, these sample datasets should:

  • sample a generic type of datasets.
  • should have different but generic formats, which would be a format outcome of copying/pasting, exporting from excel, etc.. (right now, I can think of differences in comma separated values (sometimes comma, sometime tab, sometimes space).
  • should imply comparison among its data.

I will use these datasets to make sure that the website (hence the applets) will be able to work fine with them. I currently fetched couple of datasets that would be suitable:

MDF (wood type) Production for Continents per years (gathered from FAO United Nations website)

years	subject	commodity	America +	Asia +	Europe +	Oceania +	

1995	Production Quantity	MDF	2398000.00	1582000.00	3363300.00	540000.00

1996	Production Quantity	MDF	2725000.00	2190000.00	3604300.00	786000.00

1997	Production Quantity	MDF	3285036.00	3737000.00	4587300.00	853000.00

1998	Production Quantity	MDF	3899694.00	3484000.00	6557913.00	899000.00

1999	Production Quantity	MDF	4635000.00	3854000.00	7288500.00	1025000.00

2000	Production Quantity	MDF	4773000.00	4652000.00	8380493.00	1241000.00

2001	Production Quantity	MDF	5101472.00	8002300.00	9163590.00	1350000.00

2002	Production Quantity	MDF	5601924.00	10135100.00	10386690.00	1419000.00

2003	Production Quantity	MDF	6327229.00	13970200.00	11110990.00	1627000.00

2004	Production Quantity	MDF	7729545.00	18658026.00	11846105.00	1639000.00

2005	Production Quantity	MDF	7751384.00	24133523.00	12704400.00	1622000.00

2006	Production Quantity	MDF	8467770.00	27017523.00	13383800.00	1635000.00

In the table above, the generated dataset set is not delimited with comma, but tab spaces (although the file is .csv). This also happens when you copy paste from Excel.

Also below, is a very typical example of a dataset with empty cells (unknown data), though the content is one of the most popular ones lately.

"State","Barack Obama","Hillary Rodham Clinton  ","John Edwards","John McCain ","Mike Huckabee","Mitt Romney","Ron Paul"
"Alabama",10,19,0,16,21,0,0
"Arizona",21,25,0,50,0,0,0
"Arkansas",3,10,0,1,29,1,0
"California",155,195,0,146,0,3,0
"Connecticut",26,22,0,27,0,0,0
"Delaware",9,6,0,18,0,0,0
"Georgia",22,12,0,3,45,0,0
"Illinois",68,35,0,54,0,3,0
"Kansas",15,6,0,,,,0
"Massachusetts",38,55,0,18,0,22,0
"Missouri",36,36,0,58,0,0,0
"Montana",,,,0,0,25,0
"New Jersey",46,54,0,52,0,0,0
"New Mexico",12,14,0,,,,0
"New York",80,121,0,101,0,0,0
"North Dakota",,,,5,5,8,5
"Oklahoma",14,24,0,32,6,0,0
"Tennessee",14,24,0,19,25,8,0
"Utah",14,9,0,0,0,36,0
"West Virginia",,,,,18,0,0
"Florida",,,,57,0,0,0
"South Carolina",25,12,8,19,5,0,0
"Michigan",,,,6,1,23,0
"New Hampshire",9,9,4,7,1,4,0

Here is also the imported version of this dataset in OpenVisuals.org .

Javadocs are up!

Published
by
msa
on February 19, 2008
in API
. 0 Comments

I exported Javadocs from the current version of the API that I have been working on. My goal is to find actually a better automatic documentation, like the Reference of Processing. I learned that (source: Daniel Shiffman) Ben Fry is using some kind of self-built Javadoc parsing application to generate their reference pages. So I am in search, and if you know something, put a comment!

Two weeks time, what is done, seriously?

Published
by
msa
on February 17, 2008
in API and website
. 0 Comments

Having the most boring ever weather in New York city, a New Yorker has definitely nothing to do but sit down and write codes.. So it’s been two weeks since the last post, and there is a lot to tell.

Basically, the basic features of the website is there, mysql database is up there, commenting is there, dataset uploading and visualization uploading is there, there are even couple of visualizations working with various datasets that are uploaded. As of API still a lot missing, and that is the thing that’s gonna occupy my time. But currently, using API, one can import a dataset from the website, use the functions to fetch the data, and do his/her tricks with them.

More details coming soon, but here are some snapshots from the website.

openvisuals header

main page  visualization page a dataset visualized portal page

portal page2 

the first roll of OpenVisuals API, and even a tutorial

Published
by
msa
on February 3, 2008
in API and website
. 0 Comments

Here is the birth of OpenVisuals API, version 0.0.1 beta (seriously beta), which can be downloaded from OpenVisuals API page. Lovely isn’t is? And in order to explain a little of ‘what is going on?’, here is a tutorial page. I would appreciate any comments on the structure, simplicity/complexity of the structure of the using of API. I will post more examples shortly.

actual website

Published
by
msa
on February 2, 2008
in Asides
. 0 Comments

OpenVisuals website is at openvisuals.org.

Welcome to the OpenVisuals.org Blog!

Published
by
msa
on February 2, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Here we are, trying to create a better visualization world, and excited to see where this adventure is going to take us. By saying ‘us’, it is only me actually. Hopefully, this word will lose its loneliness soon, and OpenVisuals will be a place for us to make better understanding of our data, in collaboration with dataset owners and visualization artists.