Software VS Programmatic Web Interfaces

Some of you might ask: there are various visualization softwares out there, why would we still need to make our visualizations in programmatic ways?

The following venn-diagram will help you understand the differences and similarities in these methods.

Software-generated Visualizations

In company settings, software tools like Excel, Tableau, Power BI are widely used. They allow quick, efficient communication of data insights, both between and within different functional departments, so the visualizations they produce would be more straightforward and informative than interactive.

Programmatic web-interfacing Visualizations

However, if you want to create graphs that are web-based for users – which often is from the general public– can interact with, you might want to choose the programmatic way. Compared to graphing softwares, self-programmed web interfaces often enable more customizations on interactions.

Audience from the general public often lack the background knowledge in the topic presented to them, so interactions can be designed to enhance their perception.

The next submodule will introduce the specific charting libraries available for various programmatic languages and visualization purposes.

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