observablehq / observablehq/plot

boxplot should materialize its channels?

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#1,845 3 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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enhancement question
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HTML
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Description

if we added, say:

  x = valueof(data, x);
  y = valueof(data, y);

then a boxplot of random numbers would be correct. Currently this shows inconsistencies between the different submarks:

export async function boxplotRandom() {
  return Plot.boxX({length: 20}, {x: d3.randomLcg(42), tip: true}).plot({
    style: "overflow: visible;"
  });
}

However it's possible that we would be better off using creator from the pointer-highlight branch to create the box plot as a single mark instead?

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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with Plot.boxX and reproduce the boxplotRandom example using d3.randomLcg(42). Inspect how the x and y channels are consumed by the different submarks, and review the linked pointer-highlight branch for the creator approach. Done means the random-data boxplot renders consistently across its submarks.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
d3, javascript
Domain
data-visualization
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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