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Version Data Integration and Analytics
Hitachi Vantara Lumada and Pentaho Documentation

Visualization API

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The Visualization API 3.0 provides a unified way to visualize data across the Pentaho suite, including Analyzer, PDI, and CDF. This API allows for safe and isolated operation between third party applications, visualizations, and business logic.

The Visualization API 3.0 is built on top of the following Pentaho Platform JavaScript APIs:

  • Data API

    provides seamless integration with data sources in the Pentaho platform, as well as with other client-side component frameworks.

  • Type API

    Provides out-of-the-box features such as class inheritance, metadata support, validation, and serialization.

  • Core APIs

    Provide underlying core features such as localization, theming and services registration, and consumption.

A set of stock visualizations is included to cover the most common chart types. Based on the CCC charting library, these stock visualizations are customizable and extensible to fit your organization’s desired look and feel.

If you want to know more about the specifics of how Analyzer integrates with the Visualization API, see Analyzer and the Visualization API.

The following sections will guide you through a sample visualization for the Pentaho platform.

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Creating a visualization

You create a visualization by defining the following classes:

  • Model class

    identifies the visualization and defines it in terms of its data requirements, such as the visual degrees of freedom it has (x position, color, and size for example) and any major options that affect its rendering.

  • IView class

    implements the actual rendering using chosen technologies, such as HTML, SVG, D3, and handles user interaction by dispatching actions including selection, drilling-down, and showing a tooltip.

The D3 bar chart sample project is provided as an example of a custom visualization. It uses a Model class and an IView class created from a third party (D3.js) chart. You can get and build the D3 bar chart sample project by using the following example code:

# Clone the repository.
git clone https://github.com/pentaho/pentaho-engineering-samples
cd pentaho-engineering-samples
git checkout -b 8.3

# Go to the complete sample's directory.
cd Samples_for_Extending_Pentaho/javascript-apis/platform/visual-samples-bar-d3

# Install the dependencies.
npm install

# Package your files.
npm pack
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Deploying the visualization

To deploy the sample D3 bar chart visualization to a Pentaho product, such as thePentaho Server or PDI, copy the TGZ file into the system/karaf/deploy folder.

After deploying the sample project, the sample D3 bar chart visualization now appears in Analyzer and PDI. It is also available in a CDE dashboard.

  • In Analyzer, the D3 bar chart visualization menu and placeholder icon appear on the canvas:Bar/D3 visualization example in Analyzer, showing the menu and placeholder icon
  • The D3 bar chart visualization fully renders in Analyzer:Rendered Bar/D3 visualization example in Analyzer
  • In PDI, the D3 bar chart visualization menu and placeholder icon appear on the canvas:Bar/D3 visualization example in PDI, showing the menu and placeholder icon
  • The D3 bar chart visualization fully renders in PDI:Rendered Bar/D3 visualization example in PDI
  • In CTools, the D3 bar chart is available for use in a dashboard. You can obtain the following dashboard from the pentaho/pentaho-engineering-samples directory:Bar/D3 visualization example in CTools
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Configuring the visualization

A visualization can be configured by third parties using configuration rules in external configuration files. These configurations are merged with any default configuration included with the visualization.

See Configuring a visualization for more information.

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