Greetings,
We are considering to dedicate a significant development initiative to create an extensive data visualization plug-in using K3D as the platform (also considering Blender). The objective is to establish a logic chain where data sets and specialized methods (graph layout, cartographic projections, charting patterns, etc.) are applied to render complex information visualization scenes. Our goal is to create a suite of python methods which can be chained together as a procedural model using a node-link approach.
Based on our evaluation it is not clear to what extent the K3D interface is extensible for this purpose. Although it is very clear the Visualization Pipeline architecture is exactly suited to the goal. We'd be grateful if someone can explain the suitability of implementing a node-link approach which can establish a basic scene (generated from data) with property injection via node links to set the position, size, shape, material of a given object. The requirement would be to enhance the current connection interface provided in the node property editor, to be a more visual node-link diagram similar to the Blender node-link editor.
The concept use case would be: user selects composition nodes such as CSV import, assign variables, set primitives, and links operator nodes to apply visual properties based on the variables, e.g. spheres are positioned, sized, and colored based on a data value.
We'd very much appreciate any brainstorming on the approach as if it appears feasible, we would very much look forward to contributing our open source project back to the K3D community.
Cheers,
JB
