Managing Data Visualization Pipeline with Backbone.js and D3.js

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master_Kachwala_Taha_2016.pdf (2.44 MB)
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Perustieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
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Author
Date
2016-10-27
Department
Major/Subject
Digital Media Technology
Mcode
SCI3023
Degree programme
Master's Programme in ICT Innovation
Language
en
Pages
81+6
Series
Abstract
This thesis studies how a Model-View-Controller (MV*) framework can be integrated into a Data Visualization Pipeline. Specifically, this thesis aims to cover the challenges related in integrating an MV* framework like Backbone.js with D3.js, which is a popular JavaScript based visualization library. Additionally, it also evaluates another sub-topic regarding task runners, which are tools claiming to automate manual tasks as well as streamlining the build process. Data Visualization has become an important aspect for many web applications. Developers need to employ sophisticated mechanisms to provide interactive visualizations. This requires separation of concerns within the visualization pipeline which is achieved with the combination of Backbone.js and D3.js. Evaluation of this methodology indicates that such a combination enables the application to be more versatile and robust while also improving performance. In recent years, client-side web applications have become increasingly complex. A typical web application on average requires between 10-60 external open-source JavaScript libraries. Application development also requires the use of several other tools and performing manual tasks. Managing all these libraries and tools can create a bottleneck, and task-runners like Gulp aim to address these issues. This thesis implements an Automated Build Pipeline that can streamline the build process and automates all the manual tasks. The results prove significant performance and overall efficiency benefits. However, it also highlights a few serious drawbacks. Moreover, this thesis also covers some of the best practices employed by skilled front-end web developers.
Description
Supervisor
Vuorimaa, Petri
Thesis advisor
Luonamaa, Pertti
Keywords
data visualization, JavaScript, MVC, web application, gulp
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Citation
Permanent link to this item
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201611025486
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[dipl] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI