january 15, 2024
Comparison of data visualization tools
Nowadays, the choice of visualization tools is very relevant. A visualization tool is a technology that interprets data from a source into visual content (tables, graphs, dashboards), helping to create analytical and informative summaries of events or projects. Every analytical or monitoring system cannot do without a visual representation of data, with reports and dashboards being the end product.
There are a large number of tools in the market and by analyzing the available tools, this article has selected 8 open source visualization tools in addition to the series of articles «7 Open Source and 2 low-code solutions for BI analytics visualization».
| Title | What it is | Data sources | Visualization objects | Scope of application |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Poli |
Deployable application with browser-based interface |
Any base that supports JDBC drivers. |
More than 15 report components (from plain text to charts and heat maps) Filtering is done with the Slicer and Date picker components |
Create/add static results to reports |
|
BIRT |
A framework from Eclipse that also has its own report designer |
Any data source |
More than 9 types of report elements (from plain text to charts), has the ability to link elements to each other
|
Create/add interactive dashboards to web reports
|
|
Seal Report |
A framework that also separately has a report designer, a server manager and a web-based report server |
Any data source using LINQ queries |
Uses HTML 5 Charts (based on ChartJS, NVD3, Plotly and Gauges libraries) and MS Charts |
Creating reports |
|
Smashing/Dashing |
Framework with browser interface |
Any data source |
Has 9 widgets initially, it is possible to create and add your own widgets |
Tool for creating dashboards |
|
Datart |
Deployable application with browser-based interface |
Any database that supports JDBC drivers
Excel and CSV files
HTTP requests
|
More than 24 types of panel components (from charts to filter widgets) |
Creating interactive dashboards |
|
Cboard |
Deployable application with browser-based interface |
Any data source |
More than 20 types of diagrams |
Creating a dashboard |
|
Lightdash |
Deployable application with browser-based interface |
14 data sources |
More than 7 types of charts, in addition to the filter panel, there is the possibility of cross-filtering |
Creating dashboards with minimal additional code |
|
Ploty dash |
Visualization library for Python applications |
Any data source |
More than 27 components for the user interface |
Visualization tool in data processing applications |
Poli is an easy-to-use application for creating SQL reports. It has a small but sufficient variety of visualization elements to create or add visual displays of data to reports.
BIRT is a mechanism for creating data visualizations that can be integrated into Java web applications. A good visualization tool from Eclipse for creating reports.
Seal Report — offers a complete framework for creating daily reports from any database. The visualization tool is written in C# for Microsoft .Net Framework, there is also a NuGet package for easy integration into projects.
Smashing is a framework for a dashboard. Its predecessor is Dashing. Simplifies dashboard creation for Ruby and CoffeeScript enthusiasts
Datart is a data visualization tool that supports the creation and use of reports and dashboards. Simple intuitive interface for creating reports, but most of the documentation is written in Chinese.
CBoard is a tool that supports the creation of interactive reports and a BI product development platform for developers. Creating dashboard items is similar to creating notepads in Zeppelin.
Lightdash is a tool for a full-featured BI platform. It positions itself as an alternative to Looker.
Dash is a user interface library for building analytical web applications. Ploty dash is suitable for creating data visualization applications in Python.
This article listed 8 more possible open source visualization tools that can find application for BI analytics tasks:
- Quickly visualize data to add it to a report — Poli is a good option.
- For in-house analytics you can use CBoard or Lightdash, and if you program in Python, use Ploty-dash.
- Write applications in Java, then use BIRT for reporting.
- Like working in VisualStudio and want to see alternatives for reporting, then try Seal Report.
- Need a dashboard or know CoffeeScript well — Smashing is a good option.
- If you are not afraid of documentation in Chinese, try Datart, which is gradually replacing Davinci data visualization tool on the Chinese market.
