We’ve begun using Axiis on a current client’s project. The application is loaded with graphs and charts and when we hand off the project, we needed to provide a framework for the development staff to quickly build and add new graphing components. Some of the charts are simple but there are some more complicated ones we need to build and will be built in the future. The current Flex DataViz components work fine for simple tasks. But, anyone who has had to go beyond the basics understands the pain that you quickly begin to feel.

Fortunately, I caught Tom Gonzalez’s, (BrightPoint Consulting) lecture at MAX this month and was blown away. The things they’re doing with the Axiis framework and Degrafa are off the charts! (pun intended)

I’ll leave the real discovery to you to check out the Axiis site, but, Axiis is a ’specialized framework that implements specific design patterns that can be used to create your own visualizations’. It’s not a pre-built collection of charting components. They’ve developed a great way of abstracting the basic building blocks of doing data visualization.

Axiis is currently in beta release. There are a lot of great examples on their site so check them out. If you’re new to Degrafa, it’s worth your while to do a bit of reading and check out the cool examples they have on their site as well since many of the examples use Degrafa.

Being in beta, the documentation is a work in progress. The examples from the site are great and really cover a lot of space, but I did struggle with some of the concepts at first. So I’ve taken three of the first examples we needed to borrow from and hyper-commented them for clarity.
I’ll continue to add to the collection over time.

Cluster Stack Example

Linear Series Example

Cluster Column Example

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