Data visualization concerns the manipulation of sampled and computed data for comprehensive display. The goal of the visualization is to bring to the user a deeper understanding of the data as well as the underlying laws and properties. Presenting massive amounts of data as images, it is possible to focus on important information and understand the science behind the data without being weighed down by less critical material. Motion and interaction in visualization also allow focus and better comprehension of the information displayed. This work addresses aspects of interactivity in the visualization of field data as well as data structures and algorithmic techniques for efficient computation and visualization.
Data visualization techniques are a means to manipulate sampled and computed data for comprehensive display. Visualized data can be static or in motion, to provide visual explanations of algorithms or general information. This book draws on examples from a broad selection of subject areas, such as atmospheric sciences or biology, which deal with diverse data analysis and visualization techniques. The various visualization methodologies covered in this book also include moving images as well as static. It is an important source of information for computer graphics software engineers, graduates and researchers who work in the field of visualization techniques. Unique features in this book include:
- Details of data visualization techniques for scalar, vector and tensor field data and accompanying data structures
- Explanation of how to express visual images in computational terms and turn these into display, with minimum delay
- Methodology for "probing" a displayed visualization, in order to elicit more detail
- Collection of information from several interrelated subject areas in one volume
Trends in Software – edited by Balachander Krishnamurthy of AT&T Research – is a sister publication of the journal Software: Practice and Experience