Best Libraries and Platforms for Data Visualization
In one of our previous posts we discussed data visualization and the techniques used both in regular projects and in Big Data analysis.

However, knowing the plot does not let you go beyond theoretical understanding of what tool to apply for certain data. With the abundance of techniques, the data visualization world can overwhelm the newcomer. Here we have collected some best data visualization libraries and platforms.

Data visualization libraries

Though all of the most popular languages in Data Science have built-in functions to create standard plots, building a custom plot usually requires more efforts. To address the necessity to plot versatile formats and types of data. Some of the most effective libraries for popular Data Science languages include the following:

Some of the most effective libraries for popular Data Science languages

R

The R language provides numerous opportunities for data visualization — and around 12,500 packages in the CRAN repository of R packages. This means there are packages for practically any data visualization task regardless the discipline. However, if we choose several that suit most of the task, we’d select the following:

ggplot2

ggplot2 is based on The Grammar of Graphics, a system for understanding graphics as composed of various layers that together create a complete plot. Its powerful model of graphics simplifies building complex multi-layered graphics. Besides, the flexibility it offers allows you, for example, to start building your plot with axes, then add points, then a line, a confidence interval, and so on.

ggplot2 is slower than base R and rather difficult to master, it pays huge dividends for any data scientist working in R.

Lattice

Lattice is a system of plotting inspired by Trellis graphics. It helps visualize multi-variate data, creating tiled panels of plots to compare different values or subgroups of a given variable. Lattice is built using the grid package for its underlying implementation and it inherits many grid’s features. Therefore, the logic of Lattice should feel familiar to many R users making it easier to work with.

RGL

rgl package is used to create interactive 3D plots. Like Lattice, it’s inspired by the grid package, though it’s not compatible with it. RGL features a variety of 3D shapes to choose from, lighting effects, various “materials” for the objects, as well as the ability to make an animation.
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['Big Data', 'Technology', 'Data Visualization', 'Data Science', 'Programming']