Javascript/Maps

Planning out some simple map visualizations using Leaflet, build on those.

Why maps?

The main point of these map visualizations is to learn Leaflet, D3, and Javascript. The advantages of using maps:

• no lack of interesting data sets
• data sets get very large very fast, so provides motivation for learning to bundle data, deal with "promises" etc.
• maps are mainly interesting when linked to another component, so focus on learning to link pieces

Components

Building maps in Javscript requires a few moving parts.

First, the Javascript dependency manager. Unconventionally, I'm staying as far away from Javascript package managers as possible. No Bower, Grunt, Backbone, Gulp, Node, or whatever other stupid framework is most popular these days. Just use Javascript.

Second, the static page content generator. Pages are managed using Pelican. The setup is basically to create a separate folder with all files related to the map application, and keep everything as minimal and standalone as possible. Creating a map should not require modifying the pelican theme.

Third, the Javascript/css/html files for the map itself. These are managed by Pelican and sit together in a single directory.

Phases

Phase 1: Map Only

Simple map:

• Geojson data to plot counties of a given state

Active map:

• Geojson data, when you mouse over or click there is some event