What is `HTML`?

→ Explanation:

HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. Basically, it is the language behind any website. Web browsers like Mozilla or Safari read this kind of file and translate it in a webpage.
In a HTML file, elements composing the webpage are created, delineated by tags. For instance a title of level 1 is represented by the h1 tag, a paragraph with the p tag, an image by the img tag and so on.
It is impossible to create a d3.js visualization without basic knowledge on html. This tutorial by W3School can be a good starting point in my opinion.

→ Example:

First html document

This is my first sentence

<!DOCTYPE html>

<!-- Add a title -->
<h1>First html document</h1>

<!-- Add a bit of text -->
<p>This is my first sentence</p>

<!-- Add a link -->
<p>This is <a href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com">a link to the d3 graph gallery</a></p>

→ Try:

Copy and paste the code above in a local file. Call it something like test.html. Open it with a browser. You've created your first website!

Custom document style with `CSS`

→ Explanation:

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheet. It allows to apply specific styles to the elements created using html before.
As for html, it is impossible to create a d3.js visualization without basic knowledge on css. If it is new for you, check this tutorial.

→ Example:

First html document

This is my first sentence

This is a link to the d3 graph gallery

<!DOCTYPE html>

<!-- Apply specific style to the elements that have the class `inGreen` -->
<style>
  .inGreen { color: green; }
</style>

<!-- Add a title. Note that the class 'inGreen' is given to this title -->
<h1 class="inGreen">First html document</h1>

<!-- Add a bit of text -->
<p>This is my first sentence</p>

<!-- Add a link -->
<p>This is <a href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com">a link to the d3 graph gallery</a></p>

→ Try:

Give the class inGreen to one of the paragraph p
Create a new class for the first sentence of the document. Change its font size with font-size: 20px in css.

Build shapes with `SVG`

→ Explanation:

SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphic. It is a vector image format. Basically, it is a language that allows to build shapes with code.
A d3.js chart is actually a set of svg shapes put together. For instant, a scatterplot is just composed by several circles as the one shown below.
This document of the d3 graph gallery showcases the different shapes offered by Svg.

→ Example:

First html document

This is my first sentence

<!DOCTYPE html>
<!-- Add a title -->
<h1>First html document</h1>

<!-- Add a bit of text -->
<p>This is my first sentence</p>

<!-- Add a svg shape -->
<svg>
  <circle style="fill: #69b3a2" stroke="black" cx=50 cy=50 r=40></circle>
</svg>

→ Try:

Modify the arguments of in the svg call to understand what feature they control.
Try to draw another type of shape using the cheat sheet below

<line x1="0" y1="0" x2="10" y2="10" stroke="black"></line>
<rect x="0" y="0" width="10" height="10"></rect>
<circle cx="5" cy="5" r="5"></circle>
<ellipse cx="10" cy="5" rx="10" ry="5"></ellipse>
<polygon points="0,0 10,5 20,0 20,20 10,15 0,20"></polygon>
<polyline points="0,0 10,5 20,0 20,20 10,15 0,20" stroke="black"></polyline>
<path d="M65,10 a50,25 0 1,0 50,25"></path>

Example source

Modify elements with `Javascript` and `D3.js`

→ Explanation:

JavaScript is one of the three core technologies of the World Wide Web. It enables interactivity in webpages.
D3.js is a javascript library particularly useful for data visualization. It allows to create, select and modify elements.
In the example below, d3 is used to select the circle with a class target and modify its stroke-width.
It is not very impressive yet. But we will use the same kind of process to set the position of hundreds of circle and get a scatterplot.

→ Example:

First html document

This is my first sentence

<!DOCTYPE html>
<h1>First html document</h1>

<!-- Add a bit of text -->
<p>This is my first sentence</p>

<!-- Add a svg shape. Note that the 'target' class is attributed to the circle -->
<svg> 
  <circle class="target" style="fill: #69b3a2" stroke="black" cx=50 cy=50 r=40></circle>
</svg>

<!-- Load d3.js -->
<script src="https://d3js.org/d3.v4.js"></script>

<script>
d3
  .select(".target")  // select the elements that have the class 'target'
  .style("stroke-width", 8) // change their style: stroke width is not equal to 8 pixels
</script>

→ Try:

Change the circle opacity with the opacity style that goes between 0 and 1.

`Console.log()` is your friend.

→ Explanation:

So the browser runs Html, Css and Javascript code and shows the result as a webpage.
If there is something wrong, it will give notification in the console.
Usually you can open the console with right click -> inspect element
You can output stuff in the console using the console.log("sometext") in your javascript code
This is obvious for people coming from web development. But isn't for people coming from other field (R?). It is essential to be able to debug your code.

The coordinate system

→ Explanation:

Building a d3.js chart starts by creating a svg element. This element has a width and a height, given in pixels.
It is important to understand that the top left corner has the coordinate x=0 and y=0. The bottom left corner has the coordinate x=0 and y=height. The top right corner has the coordinate x=width and height=0

→ Example:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<!-- Add a svg area, empty -->
<svg id="dataviz_area" height=200 width=450></svg>

<!-- Load d3.js -->
<script src="https://d3js.org/d3.v4.js"></script>

<script>
var svg = d3.select("#dataviz_area")
svg.append("circle")
  .attr("cx", 2).attr("cy", 2).attr("r", 40).style("fill", "blue");
svg.append("circle")
  .attr("cx", 140).attr("cy", 70).attr("r", 40).style("fill", "red");
svg.append("circle")
  .attr("cx", 300).attr("cy", 100).attr("r", 40).style("fill", "green");
</script>

→ Try:

Change the coordinate of the 3 circles to make sure you understood how it works

From data to pixel: Scales

→ Explanation:

Position of element is set in pixel. But input dataset is not.
We thus need a function that translate a numeric variable to a position in pixel. It is called a scale
If my data are percentages and my svg area is 400px width. 0% → 0px. 100% → 400px. 50% → 200px.
Scale always have a domain (0 to 100% here) and a range (0 to 400px here)
Usually the scale for the X axis is called x. If you run x(10), d3 returns the position in px for this value

→ Example:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<!-- Add a svg area, empty -->
<svg id="viz_area" height=200 width=450></svg>

<!-- Load d3.js -->
<script src="https://d3js.org/d3.v4.js"></script>

<script>
// Select the svg area
var svg = d3.select("#viz_area")

// Create a scale: transform value in pixel
var x = d3.scaleLinear()
    .domain([0, 100])         // This is the min and the max of the data: 0 to 100 if percentages
    .range([0, 400]);       // This is the corresponding value I want in Pixel
// Try console.log( x(25) ) to see what this x function does.

// Add 3 dots for 0, 50 and 100%
svg.append("circle")
  .attr("cx", x(10)).attr("cy", 100).attr("r", 40).style("fill", "blue");
svg.append("circle")
  .attr("cx", x(50)).attr("cy", 100).attr("r", 40).style("fill", "red");
svg.append("circle")
  .attr("cx", x(100)).attr("cy", 100).attr("r", 40).style("fill", "green");
</script>

→ Try:

Change domain and range values to understand how it works.
Add a Y scale to move the circles up or down. Remember 0px is on top!

Add axis

→ Explanation:

D3 offers a few function to draw axis automatically.
These axis are always drawn on top of a scale. This scale specifies where the axis must be placed, and what range it should indicate.
The function axisBottom() creates a horizontal axis, with ticks and labels at the bottom. axisLeft() will be used later for the Y axis

→ Example:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<!-- Add a svg area, empty -->
<svg id="Viz_area" height=200 width=450></svg>

<!-- Load d3.js -->
<script src="https://d3js.org/d3.v4.js"></script>

<script>
// Select the svg area
var svg = d3.select("#Viz_area")

// Create a scale: transform value in pixel
var x = d3.scaleLinear()
    .domain([0, 100])         // This is the min and the max of the data: 0 to 100 if percentages
    .range([0, 400]);       // This is the corresponding value I want in Pixel

// Show the axis that corresponds to this scale
svg.call(d3.axisBottom(x));

// Add 3 dots for 0, 50 and 100%
svg.append("circle")
  .attr("cx", x(10)).attr("cy", 100).attr("r", 40).style("fill", "blue");
svg.append("circle")
  .attr("cx", x(50)).attr("cy", 100).attr("r", 40).style("fill", "red");
svg.append("circle")
  .attr("cx", x(100)).attr("cy", 100).attr("r", 40).style("fill", "green");
</script>

→ Try:

Change domain and range values to understand how it works.

Margin & translation

→ Explanation:

The axis position often needs to be adjusted. For instance, the X axis is usually placed at the bottom of the chart.
This is made possible thanks to translation. Basically, applying .attr("transform", "translate(20,50)") to an element with translate it 20px to the right and 50px to the bottom.
A very common strategy is to apply a translation to the general svg area, creating a bit of margin around the chart without having to think about it in the rest of the code. It is important to understand how it works since almost all d3.js chart start that way.

→ Example:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<!-- Add a svg area, empty -->
<div id="Area"></div>

<!-- Load d3.js -->
<script src="https://d3js.org/d3.v4.js"></script>

<script>

// set the dimensions and margins of the graph
var margin = {top: 10, right: 40, bottom: 30, left: 30},
    width = 450 - margin.left - margin.right,
    height = 400 - margin.top - margin.bottom;

// append the svg object to the body of the page
var sVg = d3.select("#Area")
  .append("svg")
    .attr("width", width + margin.left + margin.right)
    .attr("height", height + margin.top + margin.bottom)
  // translate this svg element to leave some margin.
  .append("g")
    .attr("transform", "translate(" + margin.left + "," + margin.top + ")");

// X scale and Axis
var x = d3.scaleLinear()
    .domain([0, 100])         // This is the min and the max of the data: 0 to 100 if percentages
    .range([0, width]);       // This is the corresponding value I want in Pixel
sVg
  .append('g')
  .attr("transform", "translate(0," + height + ")")
  .call(d3.axisBottom(x));

// X scale and Axis
var y = d3.scaleLinear()
    .domain([0, 100])         // This is the min and the max of the data: 0 to 100 if percentages
    .range([height, 0]);       // This is the corresponding value I want in Pixel
sVg
  .append('g')
  .call(d3.axisLeft(y));

</script>

→ Try:

Play with the margin values to double check how it works.
Remove some lines in the svg variable creation.

Data binding

→ Explanation:

Binding data to svg elements is the last step we need to complete the scatterplot. It is also the hardest part to understand in my opinion.
It always follows the same steps:

svg: this select the svg area where the chart takes place
.selectAll("whatever"): select all the elements that have not be created yet, I know it is weird.
.data(data): specify the data to use.
.enter(): start a loop for the data. Following code will be applied to data[0], data[1] and so on.
.append("circle"): for each iteration, add a circle.
.attr("cx", function(d){ return x(d.x) }): gives the x position of the circle. Here d will be data[0], then data[1] and so on. Thus d.x is the value of x, and x(d.x) is the corresponding position in pixel found thanks to the x scale.

→ Example:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<!-- Add a svg area, empty -->
<div id="scatter_area"></div>

<!-- Load d3.js -->
<script src="https://d3js.org/d3.v4.js"></script>

<script>

// set the dimensions and margins of the graph
var margin = {top: 10, right: 40, bottom: 30, left: 30},
    width = 450 - margin.left - margin.right,
    height = 400 - margin.top - margin.bottom;

// append the svg object to the body of the page
var svG = d3.select("#scatter_area")
  .append("svg")
    .attr("width", width + margin.left + margin.right)
    .attr("height", height + margin.top + margin.bottom)
  .append("g")
    .attr("transform",
          "translate(" + margin.left + "," + margin.top + ")");

// Create data
var data = [ {x:10, y:20}, {x:40, y:90}, {x:80, y:50} ]

// X scale and Axis
var x = d3.scaleLinear()
    .domain([0, 100])         // This is the min and the max of the data: 0 to 100 if percentages
    .range([0, width]);       // This is the corresponding value I want in Pixel
svG
  .append('g')
  .attr("transform", "translate(0," + height + ")")
  .call(d3.axisBottom(x));

// X scale and Axis
var y = d3.scaleLinear()
    .domain([0, 100])         // This is the min and the max of the data: 0 to 100 if percentages
    .range([height, 0]);       // This is the corresponding value I want in Pixel
svG
  .append('g')
  .call(d3.axisLeft(y));

// Add 3 dots for 0, 50 and 100%
svG
  .selectAll("whatever")
  .data(data)
  .enter()
  .append("circle")
    .attr("cx", function(d){ return x(d.x) })
    .attr("cy", function(d){ return y(d.y) })
    .attr("r", 7)


</script>

→ Note:

This is probably the most difficult concept in d3.js. And it is used in almost every single chart. It is actually the power of d3: binding data to elements

It is probably a good idea to read more on this topic. Check d3 in depth and Dashing d3.js.

An introduction to d3.js in 10 basic examples.

What is `HTML`?

First html document

Custom document style with `CSS`

First html document

Build shapes with `SVG`

First html document

Modify elements with `Javascript` and `D3.js`

First html document

`Console.log()` is your friend.

The coordinate system

From data to pixel: Scales

Add axis

Margin & translation

Data binding

What's `next`?

What is HTML?

First html document

Custom document style with CSS

First html document

Build shapes with SVG

First html document

Modify elements with Javascript and D3.js

First html document

Console.log() is your friend.

The coordinate system

From data to pixel: Scales

Add axis

Margin & translation

Data binding

What's next?

What is `HTML`?

Custom document style with `CSS`

Build shapes with `SVG`

Modify elements with `Javascript` and `D3.js`

`Console.log()` is your friend.

What's `next`?