Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GLSL Sandbox VS D3.js

Compare GLSL Sandbox VS D3.js and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

GLSL Sandbox logo GLSL Sandbox

An online GSGL Shader Gallery and live development tool.

D3.js logo D3.js

D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. D3 helps you bring data to life using HTML, SVG, and CSS.
  • GLSL Sandbox Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-25
  • D3.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-11

D3 allows you to bind arbitrary data to a Document Object Model (DOM), and then apply data-driven transformations to the document. For example, you can use D3 to generate an HTML table from an array of numbers. Or, use the same data to create an interactive SVG bar chart with smooth transitions and interaction.

D3 is not a monolithic framework that seeks to provide every conceivable feature. Instead, D3 solves the crux of the problem: efficient manipulation of documents based on data. This avoids proprietary representation and affords extraordinary flexibility, exposing the full capabilities of web standards such as HTML, SVG, and CSS. With minimal overhead, D3 is extremely fast, supporting large datasets and dynamic behaviors for interaction and animation. D3’s functional style allows code reuse through a diverse collection of official and community-developed modules.

GLSL Sandbox features and specs

  • Interactive Learning
    GLSL Sandbox offers a real-time environment where users can instantly see the effects of their GLSL code, which is excellent for learning and experimenting.
  • Community-Sharing
    Users can share their shaders with the community, allowing for collaborative learning and inspiration from the works of others.
  • No Setup Required
    As a web-based tool, GLSL Sandbox eliminates the need for complex setups or installations, making it accessible from any browser.
  • Quick Prototyping
    The platform allows for rapid prototyping of shader ideas, letting users test and iterate their designs efficiently.
  • Simple Interface
    GLSL Sandbox features a straightforward and user-friendly interface, making it easy for people new to GLSL to start creating.

Possible disadvantages of GLSL Sandbox

  • Limited Features
    Compared to more sophisticated IDEs, GLSL Sandbox lacks advanced tools and features such as debugging support, version control, and project management.
  • Performance Constraints
    Being browser-based, it may not handle complex shaders or provide the performance needed for more demanding graphics work.
  • No Offline Access
    GLSL Sandbox requires an internet connection, which can be a limitation for users who need to work offline.
  • Less Control Over Environment
    Users cannot customize the development environment as much as standalone applications, potentially limiting specific workflow preferences.
  • Shader Compatibility
    Since it runs in a web environment, compatibility issues may arise depending on the browser being used and its support for WebGL.

D3.js features and specs

  • Powerful Visualization
    D3.js allows for the creation of highly customized and interactive data visualizations, harnessing the full power of web standards like SVG, Canvas, and HTML.
  • Data Binding
    It offers robust support for data-driven transformations and binding, enabling intuitive connections between data sets and DOM elements.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    A large and active community contributes to tutorials, plugins, and tools, which can significantly simplify the development process.
  • Flexibility
    D3.js is highly flexible, providing low-level manipulation capabilities without being tied to any specific chart types or patterns.
  • Performance
    It is highly optimized for performance, allowing for efficient rendering of complex visualizations even with large data sets.

Possible disadvantages of D3.js

  • Steep Learning Curve
    D3.js has a steep learning curve due to its low-level nature and requires a solid understanding of JavaScript, DOM manipulation, and data concepts.
  • Complexity
    Creating complex visualizations can be time-consuming and require a significant amount of custom code, making it less approachable for quick, simple tasks.
  • Browser Compatibility
    Although widely supported, some D3.js features may have inconsistent behavior across different browsers, requiring additional testing and debugging.
  • Documentation
    While extensive, D3.js documentation can be challenging for beginners to navigate and understand, causing misunderstandings and slower development times.
  • Dependency Management
    The library itself is modular, but managing dependencies and integrating D3.js with other JavaScript frameworks or libraries can sometimes be problematic.

Analysis of D3.js

Overall verdict

  • Yes, D3.js is a highly regarded library for data visualization in the web development community.

Why this product is good

  • Flexibility: D3.js provides incredible flexibility in creating complex and interactive visualizations with web standards (SVG, HTML, and CSS).
  • Customization: It allows for high levels of customization, which lets developers create unique and detailed visualizations tailored to their specific needs.
  • Community and Ecosystem: D3.js has a large, active community and a rich ecosystem of plugins and extensions conducive to learning and integration.
  • Data Binding: Offers powerful ways to manipulate documents based on data; the data-driven approach simplifies dynamic interaction creation.
  • Performance: Efficiently manipulates DOM elements and performs well with large datasets if used correctly.

Recommended for

  • Data Scientists and Analysts looking to create custom, interactive visualizations.
  • Web Developers who need to incorporate complex data visualizations into applications.
  • Educators and Researchers presenting data in an engaging way.
  • Anyone needing to build bespoke visualizations that are not possible with off-the-shelf solutions.

GLSL Sandbox videos

fractal GLSL sandbox review metroid like

More videos:

  • Review - Importing GLSL sandbox shaders and rendering under macOS Metal.

D3.js videos

Data Visualization with D3.js - Full Tutorial Course

More videos:

  • Review - Let's learn D3.js - D3 for data visualization (full course)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GLSL Sandbox and D3.js)
3D
100 100%
0% 0
Charting Libraries
0 0%
100% 100
Interactive Exhibits
100 100%
0% 0
Data Visualization
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GLSL Sandbox and D3.js

GLSL Sandbox Reviews

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D3.js Reviews

6 JavaScript Charting Libraries for Powerful Data Visualizations in 2023
Depending on your requirements, the best JavaScript library is D3.js, as it’s by far the most customizable. However, it’s also really complex and difficult to master. Plus, it’s not as compatible with TypeScript as it is with JavaScript, which can be off-putting for some developers. If you’d prefer a less complex library that you can use with TypeScript, ECharts, and...
Source: embeddable.com
15 JavaScript Libraries for Creating Beautiful Charts
When we think of charting today, D3.js is the first name that comes up. Being an open source project, D3.js definitely brings many powerful features that were missing in most of the existing libraries. Features like dynamic properties, Enter and Exit, powerful transitions, and syntax familiarity with jQuery make it one the best JavaScript libraries for charting. Charts in...
Top 20 Javascript Libraries
D3 stands for Data-Driven Documents. With D3, you can apply data-driven transformations to DOM objects. The keyword with D3 is ‘data-driven,’ which means documents are manipulated depending on the data received. Data can be received in any format and bound with DOM objects. D3 is very fast and supports dynamic behavior for animation and interactions. There are plenty of...
Source: hackr.io
20+ JavaScript libraries to draw your own diagrams (2022 edition)
D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. Right now, I would say is the most popular library of its kind.
15 data science tools to consider using in 2021
Another open source tool, D3.js is a JavaScript library for creating custom data visualizations in a web browser. Commonly known as D3, which stands for Data-Driven Documents, it uses web standards, such as HTML, Scalable Vector Graphics and CSS, instead of its own graphical vocabulary. D3's developers describe it as a dynamic and flexible tool that requires a minimum amount...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, D3.js seems to be a lot more popular than GLSL Sandbox. While we know about 167 links to D3.js, we've tracked only 7 mentions of GLSL Sandbox. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GLSL Sandbox mentions (7)

  • Show HN: Psychedelic animation generator; (p)art of your next trip
    Https://iquilezles.org/ is a legend, see the articles and video tutorials. Aside from shadertoy I use https://glslsandbox.com/ (for some reason it has https errors now). It's the same concept and it has a lot of submissions that are more basic than shardertoy where you can easily change lines and see what happens. My intuition for these kind of shaders: They are just pure functions mapping an x,y coordinate to a... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • WebGL minigame on my new portfolio website
    I also found this website just recently: https://webgl2fundamentals.org/ and it's something I'm definitely gonna read through fully. You may also check https://thebookofshaders.com/ for shaders tutorials (they also have a pretty good editor), https://www.shadertoy.com/ and https://glslsandbox.com/ for some shader ideas. https://iquilezles.org/ and especially his SDF tutorials on YouTube.... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Why does it do those "chunks"
    I was messing around with this when I noticed those weird chunks. Source: over 2 years ago
  • pygame_shaders - a module to easily integrate shaders with Pygame
    (The example shader below wasn't written by me, it can be found here https://glslsandbox.com/). Source: over 2 years ago
  • Website created to host, share, run and display GLSL shader code - shadergrounds.com
    For folks looking for something considerably more casual than shadertoy, there's also https://glslsandbox.com/ , which makes it stupid easy to grab an existing shader there, tweak 2 lines and publish the result. You probably won't gain fame or glory there, but it's a rather convenient practice ground. Source: over 2 years ago
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D3.js mentions (167)

  • IO Devices and Latency
    Do you mean something for data visualization, or tricks condensing large data sets with cursors? https://d3js.org/ Best of luck =3. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • 2024 Nuxt3 Annual Ecosystem Summary🚀
    Document address: D3.js Official Document. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • 100+ Must-Have Web Development Resources
    D3.js: One of the most popular JavaScript visualization libraries. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • What are npm Peer Dependencies and how to use them?
    A Dependency is an npm package that our code depends on in order to be able to run. Some popular packages that can be added as dependencies are lodash, D3, and chartjs. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Introducing RacingBars 📊
    RacingBars is an open-source, light-weight (~45kb gzipped), easy-to-use, and feature-rich javascript library for bar chart race, based on D3.js. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing GLSL Sandbox and D3.js, you can also consider the following products

Shadertoy - Build shaders, share them, and learn from the best community.

Chart.js - Easy, object oriented client side graphs for designers and developers.

SHADERed - Lightweight, full-featured desktop tool for creating and testing HLSL and GLSL shaders

Plotly - Low-Code Data Apps

The Book of Shaders - Extensive guide through fragment shaders with live coding examples

Highcharts - A charting library written in pure JavaScript, offering an easy way of adding interactive charts to your web site or web application