CN118133788A - A table-based visual construction process generation method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a system for generating a visual construction process based on a table, which correspond visual graphic elements with units of the table according to visual definitions input by a user, determine parts needing to be mapped by the table units and perform visual mapping of the table one by one according to attribute values and graphic elements needing to be mapped; recursively grouping the data items according to the data attributes; arranging corresponding primitives of the data items in each data group according to an attribute alignment mode and a data item ordering mode defined by a user; according to a user-defined data aggregation mode, data aggregation is carried out on data items in the data group, and numerical attribute value mapping is carried out on the data items in the data group; and generating animation according to the operation sequence. By adopting the method disclosed by the invention, for different visualizations, the intermediate steps of operating and dynamically transforming from the table are automatically calculated according to the final visualization form, so that the user can be helped to understand the visualization mapping and data transforming processes.

Description

A table-based visual construction process generation method and system

Technical Field

The present invention belongs to the field of visualization, and in particular relates to a table-based visualization construction process generation method and system.

Background technique

In today's world where data is everywhere, the popularity of visualization helps data analysts quickly discover hidden patterns in data. However, with the continuous development of visualization technology, the form and interaction of visualization are becoming more and more complex, and multi-view visualization makes it more difficult to understand visualization. Visualization beginners face a steep learning curve. In addition, many users who need to process data choose to use spreadsheet tools to analyze and construct meaning of data due to their lack of understanding of visualization and visual analysis tools.

Some existing work on assisting visualization understanding focuses on using simple visualizations to help understand more complex visualizations that are related to their form. This type of work does not provide a unified framework, and different visualizations need to be designed separately. Other work uses visualization animations to help users understand the process of data conversion, but only for simple statistical charts, without involving the understanding of complex visualization mapping methods, resulting in the inability to perform data conversion and visual mapping on the original data to generate the final visualization process in a table format, which creates obstacles to the understanding of complex visualizations.

Summary of the invention

In view of the defects existing in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a table-based visualization construction process generation method and system, which can automatically display the process of data conversion and visual mapping from raw data to generate the final visualization for specific types of visualization, so as to help users understand the visualization process and mapping method.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

In a first aspect, a table-based visual construction process generation method is provided, the method comprising the following steps:

S1. According to the visualization definition input by the user, the visualized primitives are matched with the cells of the table, the parts that need to be mapped to the table cells are determined, and the table visualization mapping is performed one by one according to the attribute values and primitives that need to be mapped;

S2, recursively grouping the data items according to the arrangement determined by the visualization definition input by the user to form multiple data groups;

S3, within each data group, the corresponding graphics elements of the data items are arranged according to the attribute alignment method and data item sorting method defined by the user, and the corresponding data items are arranged to the front of the unsorted data items, marked as sorted, and the sorting process is displayed through the animation of the data item movement;

S4. Determine the data aggregation method according to the visualization defined by the user, aggregate the data items within the data group, and map the numerical attribute values of the data items within the data group;

S5. Generate an animation according to the operation sequence in steps S1-S4 to demonstrate the visualization construction process.

Furthermore, the visualization definition input by the user in step S1 includes the data uploaded by the user, the selected visualization type, and the specified data attributes mapping different visual channels.

Furthermore, according to the visualization type in the visualization definition, it is analyzed that the operations in the visualization generation process include mapping operations, layout operations, and data transformation operations.

Furthermore, in step S2, the data items are grouped according to data attributes.

Further, grouping the data items in step S2 includes the following sub-steps:

S21. Sort and merge attributes within existing visualizations based on data attributes;

S22. Determine the moving direction of different data groups according to whether the coordinate axis of the data attribute mapping is horizontal or vertical.

Furthermore, in step S3, by decomposing the ordering method of data items and the alignment method of data attributes, the graphic elements corresponding to the data items are ordered and the data attributes are aligned within each data group, so as to define the visualization form within the data group.

Further, step S4 includes calculating the size of the aggregate value within each data group, determining the mapping relationship between the attribute value and the display size according to the aggregate value range, the number of groups and the screen pixels of all data groups; and recalculating the position and size of the data item according to the aggregate value, and displaying the recalculated data item through dynamic change and movement.

Further, step S4 includes adjusting the sizes of different table cells according to the defined attribute alignment; encoding different channels of the table cells according to the mapping specified by the visualization definition; arranging the data groups into a matrix, and the final size of each row/column data group is determined by the maximum number of rows/columns of the row/column data group.

Furthermore, the animation generated in step S5 includes a view for uploading data, a view for displaying the number of attribute categories or the distribution of values, a visualization selection view, an animation path view, an animation main view, and an operation customization view.

In a second aspect, a table-based visualization construction process generation system adopts a table-based visualization construction process generation method as described in the first aspect of the present invention and any optional embodiment thereof, and automatically generates an animation to assist users in understanding the visualization construction process according to the data uploaded by the user, the selected visualization type, and the specified data attributes mapping different visual channels.

The beneficial technical effect of the present invention is that a table-based visualization construction process generation method and system disclosed in the present invention are used to assist users in understanding the visualization generation process, and an animation of the visualization construction process is automatically generated according to the data input by the user, the selected visualization type and the specified data attributes of mapping different visual channels. The animation displays the visualization construction process based on the table, and uses the user's familiarity with the table to help the user understand data transformation and visualization mapping, thereby understanding complex forms of visualization.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a flow chart of a table-based visualization construction process generation method disclosed in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an animation showing a visualized construction process generated by a table-based visualized construction process generation system disclosed in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

Embodiment 1

As shown in FIG1 , an embodiment of the present invention provides a table-based visualization construction process generation method, the method comprising the following steps:

S1. According to the visualization definition input by the user, the visualized graphics elements are matched with the cells of the table, the parts that need to be mapped to the table cells are determined, and the table visualization mapping is performed one by one according to the attribute values and graphics elements that need to be mapped.

The visualization definition entered by the user includes the data uploaded by the user, the selected visualization type, and the specified data attributes that map to different visual channels.

Table-based visualization treats each data item as a complex primitive, consisting of a primitive column and multiple attribute columns, each of which can be mapped. The table in the initial state is considered a special visualization in which the primitive column is empty and the attribute column uses a text channel to map the original data. For the cell mapping part, mapping is first performed on the corresponding attribute column, followed by mapping in the primitive column, and the attribute column is hidden.

The visualization type in the visualization definition input by the user can be parsed to identify the operations in the visualization generation process, including mapping operations, layout operations, and data transformation operations. The mapping operation is to map the attributes to the color, border, size, or embedded graphics of the table cell or cell group. The layout operation is to swap the positions of different data items, including sorting and changing the layout of data groups, including grouping, horizontal distribution, etc. The data transformation operation is the data aggregation operation, including counting, summing, averaging, etc., and the attribute transformation operation, including binning, normalization, etc.

S2. Recursively group the data items according to the arrangement determined by the visualization definition input by the user to form multiple data groups.

Data items are usually grouped according to different attribute values. For example, for a bar chart, the attribute used to define the horizontal axis is used to group data items to form multiple data groups. When grouping, first sort and merge the attributes within the existing visualization according to the attribute value, and then determine the movement direction of different data groups according to the horizontal or vertical axis mapped by the attribute.

S3. Arrange the corresponding graphics elements of the data items within each data group according to the user-defined attribute alignment and data item sorting method, and arrange the corresponding data items to the front of the unsorted data items and mark them as sorted. The sorting process is displayed through the animation of the data item movement.

According to different visualization types determined in the visualization definition input by the user, the arrangement of data items within the data group is different. According to the visualization type input by the user, the sorting method of data items and the alignment method of data attributes within the data group are determined. By decomposing the sorting method of data items and the alignment method of data attributes, the graphics elements corresponding to the data items are sorted and the data attributes are aligned within each data group, so as to define the visualization form within the data group.

The data sets in the data group include two forms: data list and matrix, where (1) the data list contains multiple data items, each of which has a categorical attribute, an ordinal attribute, and a numerical attribute; (2) the matrix contains two categorical attributes and a numerical attribute corresponding to the categorical attribute value.

For example, for a bar chart, only a single column is displayed, and the data items are arranged in the original data order and aligned to the bottom. For a tree visualization, the data items are arranged in the depth-first traversal order of the tree data, and the attributes are aligned according to the depth of the node. In the specific calculation, such an arrangement and alignment corresponds to inserting all the child nodes of the main word search node into the sorted data item array and aligning them according to the attributes of the parent and child nodes.

For matrix visualization, data items are sorted based on the value of one of the attributes, with data items with the same value arranged in the same row. The other attribute is aligned based on the attribute value.

S4. According to the user-defined visualization, determine the data aggregation method, aggregate the data items within the data group, and map the numerical attribute values of the data items within the data group.

Step S4 includes calculating the size of the aggregate value in each data group, determining the mapping relationship between the attribute value and the display size according to the aggregate value range, the number of groups and the screen pixels of all data groups, and then recalculating the position and size of the data item according to the aggregate value, and displaying it in a dynamic change and movement manner.

The sizes of different table cells are adjusted according to the defined attribute alignment; different channels of the table cells are encoded according to the definition of the mapping; the data groups are arranged into a matrix, and the final size of each row/column data group is determined by the maximum number of rows/columns of the row/column data group.

S5. Generate an animation according to the operation sequence in steps S1-S4 to demonstrate the visualization construction process.

The generated animations include views for uploading data, views for displaying the number of attribute categories or the distribution of values, views for visual selection, views for animation paths, main animation views, and views for custom operations.

Embodiment 2

An embodiment of the present invention provides a table-based visualization construction process generation system, which adopts a table-based visualization construction process generation method as described in Example 1 of the present invention and any optional implementation manner thereof, and automatically generates an animation to assist users in understanding the visualization construction process based on data uploaded by users, a selected visualization type, and specified data attributes that map different visual channels.

As shown in FIG2 , a table-based visualization construction process generation system disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention is used to generate an animation showing the visualization construction process, wherein FIGS. (1)-(4) are animations showing the visualization construction process of mapping operations, FIGS. (5)-(7) are animations showing the visualization construction process of layout operations, and FIGS. (8)-(9) are animations showing the visualization construction process of data transformation operations.

The specific map (1) is an animation showing the visual construction process of the color mapping operation: setting the background color of the cell and making the cell background change from transparent to opaque over time.

Figure (2) is an animation showing the visual construction process of the length mapping operation: the cell width or height changes from the original length to the length after mapping the data over time.

Figure (3) is an animation showing the visualization construction process of the area mapping operation: embedding a primitive in a cell and making the area of the primitive change from 0 to the area size after mapping the data over time.

Figure (4) is an animation showing the visual construction process of the position mapping operation: embedding a primitive on the left side of the cell and moving the primitive to the position after mapping the data over time.

Figure (5) is an animation showing the visual construction process of the layout operation: moving the grouped data items so that they are arranged horizontally.

Figure (6) is an animation showing the visualization process of group operations: the specified attribute columns of data items in the same group are merged. During this process, the original cells change from opaque to transparent, while the merged cells change from transparent to opaque over time.

Figure (7) is an animation showing the visual construction process of the rotation operation: rotating the entire view 90 degrees around the specified center point.

Figure (8) is an animation showing the sum operation: move the data item elements in each group so that they are stacked horizontally or vertically, and then move the elements in each group so that the elements in adjacent groups are closely arranged.

Figure (9) is an animation showing the visualization process of the averaging operation: the length of the primitives in each group is changed to the length corresponding to the average value over time, and then the primitives in each group are moved to the top primitive of the group to overlap.

It can be seen from the above embodiments that the table-based visualization construction process generation method and system disclosed in the present invention can automatically generate an animation that is dynamically transformed from a table to a visualization by recursively grouping the original data items, arranging the graphics elements within the data group, and mapping the graphics elements according to the original data table according to the data input by the user and the visualization type. The visualization construction process is represented based on the table familiar to the user, and for different visualizations, a unified table form and steps are used to automatically generate the animation of the visualization construction process.

The method and system described in the present invention are not limited to the embodiments described in the specific implementation manner. Those skilled in the art may derive other implementation manners based on the technical solution of the present invention, which also fall within the technical innovation scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A method for generating a table-based visualization building process, the method comprising the steps of:

s1, according to visual definition input by a user, corresponding visual graphic elements with units of a table, determining a part to be mapped by the table units, and carrying out table visual mapping one by one according to attribute values and graphic elements to be mapped;

S2, recursively grouping the data items according to the arrangement mode determined by the visual definition input by the user to form a plurality of data groups;

S3, arranging corresponding graphic primitives of the data items in each data group according to an attribute alignment mode and a data item ordering mode defined by a user, arranging the corresponding data items to the forefront of the unordered data items, marking the unordered data items as ordered, and displaying the ordered data items through moving animations in the data item ordering process;

S4, determining a data aggregation mode according to the visualization defined by the user, performing data aggregation on the data items in the data group, and performing numerical attribute value mapping on the data items in the data group;

s5, generating animation according to the operation sequences in the steps S1-S4 to display the visual construction process.

2. The method for generating a table-based visualization building process of claim 1, wherein: the visualization definition input by the user in step S1 includes the data uploaded by the user, the selected visualization type and the specified data attribute mapping different visual channels.

3. The method for generating a table-based visualization building process according to claim 2, wherein: the operations in the visualization generation process are parsed according to the visualization types in the visualization definition, including mapping operations, layout operations, and data transformation operations.

4. A method of generating a form-based visualization building process as defined in claim 3, wherein: in step S2, the data items are grouped according to the data attributes.

5. The method for generating a table-based visualization building process of claim 4, wherein grouping the data items in step S2 comprises the sub-steps of:

s21, sorting and attribute combination are carried out in the existing visualization according to the data attribute;

S22, determining the moving directions of different data sets according to the horizontal or vertical coordinate axes of the data attribute mapping.

6. The method for generating a table-based visualization building process of claim 5, wherein: in step S3, the data items are sorted and the data attributes are aligned in each data group by decomposing the sorting manner of the data items and the alignment manner of the data attributes, so as to define the visualization form in the data group.

7. The method for generating a table-based visualization building process of claim 6, wherein: step S4, calculating the aggregate value in each data group, and determining the mapping relation between the attribute value and the display size according to the aggregate value range, the group number and the screen pixels of all the data groups; and re-calculating the position and the size of the data item according to the aggregation value, and displaying the re-calculated data item in a dynamic change and movement mode.

8. The method for generating a table-based visualization building process of claim 7, wherein: step S4, adjusting the sizes of different table units according to the defined attribute alignment mode; defining different channels of a specified mapping coding table unit according to the visualization; the data sets are arranged in a matrix, and the final size of each row/column data set is determined by the maximum number of rows/columns of the row/column data set.

9. The method for generating a table-based visualization building process of claim 1, wherein: the animation generated in step S5 includes a view of uploading data, a view showing the attribute category number or numerical distribution, a visual selection view, an animation path view, an animation main view, and an operation custom view.

10. A visual construction process generation system based on a table is characterized in that: with a form-based visualization building process generating method according to any of claims 1-9, animations are automatically generated to assist the user in understanding the visualization building process based on the user's uploaded data, the selected visualization type and the specified data attributes mapping the different visual channels.