Orca: A Visualization Toolkit for High-Dimensional Data

Abstract

This article describes constructing interactive and dynamic linked data views using the Java programming language. The data views are designed for data that have a multivariate component. The approach to displaying data comes from earlier research on building statistical graphics based on data pipelines, in which different aspects of data processing and graphical rendering are organized conceptually into segments of a pipeline. The software design takes advantage of the object-oriented nature of the Java language to open up the data pipeline, allowing developers to have greater control over their visualization applications. Importantly, new types of data views coded to adhere to a few simple design requirements can easily be integrated with existing pipe sections. This allows access to sophisticated linking and dynamic interaction across all (new and existing) view types. Pipe segments can be accessed from data analysis packages such as Omegahat or R, providing a tight coupling of visual and numerical methods.