It is the best tool to evaluate six kinds of map visualization software in three categories

In the current market , There are many tools that can realize map visualization , It can be divided into programming classes 、 Platform and software ：
Programming class ：Matlab、Python、Echarts
Platform class ：FineBI、 Gao de Maplab
Software class ：Excel
Of course , There are other things , Such as foreign BatchGeo、Fusion Tables etc. , Here is not a list . Which tool is the easiest to do map visualization 、 Most labor-saving 、 The most powerful ？ Today we will measure , Make an evaluation

Scene preparation

To test the performance of each tool , I designed a simple scene , Use various tools to make a visual map and compare the final effect .

• Available data ：2018 The number of permanent residents in provinces and cities in China （ The data comes from the National Bureau of Statistics -2018 Statistical yearbook ）
• scene ： It is necessary to visually display the population distribution of provinces and cities through maps , Convenient for intuitive comparison

- Making visual maps

1、Excel

Excel It is a data processing tool that most people are familiar with , Import data Excel in , After selecting the fields of province and population , Then click on the 3D map above , You will enter the map visual editing interface .

then , Then drag the province field into the location option , And choose province / City / Autonomous region level , Drag the population segment into height （ value ） Options , Finally, select the province field in the category option , Switch to area map , A visual map of the permanent population of each province and province is completed .

• evaluation ：

Excel The operation of map visualization is relatively simple , It's also less functional , The type is only column chart 、 Bubble chart 、 Heat map and area map etc , At present, the common flow map in the field of big data is not within the scope of selection , Available themes are also some of Microsoft's classic , There seems to be some “ Visual fatigue ”.

2、Echarts

Echarts It is a commercial data chart platform , It's a pure JavaScript Chart Library of , Therefore use Echarts It will be a little complicated to visualize the map , There needs to be a certain JS The foundation can be easily used . because Echarts The official example of does not have the option of regional map （ One small drawback ）, Therefore, the bubble chart is used for display . stay Echarts in , Data needs to be cleaned in advance , Then put it into the code . The code block is mainly divided into three parts ： Field defines the geographical location 、 Field assignment and chart frame construction , Part of the code is shown below ：

Wrote about 300 Line code , It's done Echarts Visual map of , The size of the bubble indicates the comparison of the population of each province , And the number of people is marked Top5 Provinces of .

• evaluation ：

pure JavaScript The characteristics of writing make Echarts It has a great degree of freedom in the process of realizing map visualization , But at the same time , It also brings great difficulty to get started 、 Take a long time and other problems , overall ,Echarts As a domestic tool , It can be said that flaws do not hide flaws , It is recommended for readers with programming foundation .

3、FineBI

FineBI It is a data analysis tool suitable for Xiaobai , Provides data preparation from 、 Self service data processing 、 Data analysis and mining 、 The complete steps of data visualization , It is also one of my favorite visualization tools . So let's use FineBI To demonstrate the process of map visualization .

• First step ： Extract data

In fact, it will be ready Excel Upload to FineBI On the platform , Fortunately FineBI Can support 30 Multiple database tables , Multidimensional database 、 Program data sets and other data sources , It's very convenient .

• The second step ： Create a dashboard

After the data extraction of map visual editing , Add a dashboard to create and display visual maps , Then add another component , And select the data set just uploaded , In this way, you can enter the map visual editing interface .
Turn the province dimension into a geographical role , And drag the generated longitude and latitude into the horizontal 、 The vertical axis , meanwhile , Drag the population index into the color area . All you need to do is drag and drop , No programming at all , A high-quality visual map is complete .
More Than This , You can also add components to filter provinces , For example, we need to check the situation of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai ：
The views of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai are at the same time , It can also be screened according to the population range , For example, the population is 7000 More than 10000 provinces are distributed ：

• The third step ： Display template

For this step, show ,excel and echart It's not as good as FineBI Of , because FineBI The platform can display the map visualization template , Leader 、 Colleagues can view it on the platform , There's no need to make PPT Or export to pdf Format for reporting , For people with work needs , It's really a function that has greatly liberated the labor force .

• evaluation ：

Compared with other tools ,FineBI Simple operation , And the results were excellent . and , In addition to the above functions ,FineBI It also supports real-time data update 、 Map drilling 、 Custom area 、 Template reuse and other functions , And covers most of the chart types , It enriches the practicability of map visualization .

summary

Through the actual experience of three map visualization tools , It can be found that different types of tools have their own characteristics ：

• In terms of operation ,

Excel It is undoubtedly the simplest , But its display effect is not good , The function richness is general , And use Excel After finishing the drawing, you need to make another PPT perhaps Word For display , Extra work ;

• In terms of functional richness ,

Echarts As a programming tool, it has great advantages , But the producer needs to have a certain programming foundation , And it takes a long time ;

• In terms of comprehensiveness ,

FineBI The performance is outstanding , No programming and easy to do , It can realize platform display , It is more suitable for enterprise users , It's a good choice for data visualization .