[Research] Detailed comparison of properties between the traditional visualization and VisBuilder saved objects

[SheyGao]

Research Subject

The research focuses on the structure and properties of saved objects in traditional visualization and VisBuilder. Both tools are utilized for creating and displaying data visualizations, but they may differ in how they save and structure their objects.

Objective

The primary objective of this research is to analyze and compare the structure of saved objects in traditional visualization and VisBuilder. Understanding these structures and their properties will facilitate the design of a migration function that converts traditional visualization saved objects into those compatible with VisBuilder.

Methods

For each of the visualization type, there are two different methods for checking the structures and properties: 1) using dashboards management tab; 2) using Chrome Dev Tools. The steps and results are shown below.

1. Traditional Visualization

1.1 Using Dashboards Management

• Create a bar chart using Vertical Bar (For example, below is a vertical bar chart showing the unique count of different category. )

• Save the object

• Navigate to Dashboards Management - Saved objects - Edit visualization

• Structure and Properties of Saved Object

1.2 Using Chrome Dev Tools

• Use the same bar chart as above
• Open Chrome Dev Tools, navigate to the network tab, Inspect the network response
• Structure and Properties of Saved Object

2. VisBuilder Visualization

2.1 Using Dashboards management

• Create a bar chart using VisBuilder (Notice we're creating a visualization with the same content as the previous one created using Vertical Bar, as having the same content allows us to more easily compare the differences between the essential structures and properties of the saved objects in the two different tools.)

• Save the object

• Navigate to Dashboards Management - Saved objects - Edit visualization

• Structure and Properties of Saved Object

2.2: Using Chrome Dev Tools

• Use the same bar chart as above
• Open Chrome Dev Tools, navigate to the network tab, Inspect the network response
• Structure and Properties of Saved Object

Findings

In this section, the pros and cons of the above described methods, mapping of states in visualization and VisBuilder and differences of saved objects in traditional visualization and VisBuilder will be discussed.

1. Pros and Cons for Different Methodology 1.1 Using Dashboards Management:

• Pros: Easy access to the structure through the user interface.
• Cons: Incomplete structure of the saved object compared to Chrome Dev Tools.

1.2 Using Chrome Dev Tools:

• Pros: Provides a complete and accurate structure and properties of the saved object.
• Cons: May be difficult for those unfamiliar with developer tools

2. Mapping of states between visualization and VisBuilder