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The Grammar of Graphics

  • Book
  • © 2005

Overview

Authors:
  1. Leland Wilkinson

    1. SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA

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  • Presents a unique foundation for producing almost every quantitative graphic found in scientific journals, newspapers, statistical packages, and data visualization systems

Part of the book series: Statistics and Computing (SCO)

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Table of contents (20 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    Pages 1-19

  3. Syntax

    1. How To Make a Pie

      Pages 23-40

    2. Data

      Pages 41-54

    3. Variables

      Pages 55-61

    4. Algebra

      Pages 63-83

    5. Scales

      Pages 85-109

    6. Statistics

      Pages 111-154

    7. Geometry

      Pages 155-178

    8. Coordinates

      Pages 179-254

    9. Aesthetics

      Pages 255-318

    10. Facets

      Pages 319-345

    11. Guides

      Pages 347-356

  4. Semantics

    1. Space

      Pages 359-405

    2. Time

      Pages 407-449

    3. Uncertainty

      Pages 451-488

    4. Analysis

      Pages 489-533

    5. Control

      Pages 535-577

    6. Automation

      Pages 579-609

    7. Reader

      Pages 611-622
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About this book

Preface to First Edition Before writing the graphics for SYSTAT in the 1980’s, I began by teaching a seminar in statistical graphics and collecting as many different quantitative graphics as I could find. I was determined to produce a package that could draw every statistical graphic I had ever seen. The structure of the program was a collection of procedures named after the basic graph types they p- duced. The graphics code was roughly one and a half megabytes in size. In the early 1990’s, I redesigned the SYSTAT graphics package using - ject-based technology. I intended to produce a more comprehensive and - namic package. I accomplished this by embedding graphical elements in a tree structure. Rendering graphics was done by walking the tree and editing worked by adding and deleting nodes. The code size fell to under a megabyte. In the late 1990’s, I collaborated with Dan Rope at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Dan Carr at George Mason University to produce a graphics p- duction library called GPL, this time in Java. Our goal was to develop graphics components. This book was nourished by that project. So far, the GPL code size is under half a megabyte.

Reviews

From the reviews of the second edition:

"This fascinating book deconstructs the process of producing graphics and in doing so raises many fascinating questions on the nature and representation of information...This second edition is almost twice the size of the original, with six new chapters and substantial revisions." Short Book Reviews of the International Statistical Institute,  December 2005

"When the first edidtion of this book appeared in 2000 it was  much praised. I called it a tour de force of the highest order. (Wainer, 2001), Edward Wegman (2000) argued that it was destined to become a classic. Now, six years later this very fine book has been much improved." Howard Wainer for Psychometrika

"...The second edition is an impressive expansion beyond a quite remarkable first edition. The text remains dense and even more encyclopedic, but it is a pleasure to read, whether a novice or an expert in graphics...this book is a bargain...The second edition is a must-have volume for anyone interested in graphics." Thomas E. Bradstreet for the Journal of the American Statistical Association, December 2006

"I find myself still thinking about the book and its ideas, several weeks after I finished reading it. I love that kind of book." Mark Bailey for Techometrics, Vol. 49, No. 1, February 2007

"Warts and all, The Grammar of Graphics is a richly rewarding work, an outstanding achievement by one of the leaders of statistical graphics. Seek it out."  Nicholas J. Cox for the Journal of Statistical Software, January 2007

"The second edition is a quite fascinating book as well, and it comes with many color graphics. Anyone working in this field can see how many hours the author (plus coworkers) has spent on such a volume. … Demands for good graphics are high and this book will help to wetten the appetite to create future computer packages that willmeet this demand. An occasional reader will get insights into a modern world of computing … ." (Wolfgang Polasek, Statistical Papers, Vol. 48, 2007)

Authors and Affiliations

  • SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA

    Leland Wilkinson

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