csharp-data-visualization

This repository is a collection of C# code examples designed to demonstrate various ways to draw graphics to display data. The projects range from graphics simulations (like Boids or Game of Life) to specific technology implementations using different rendering engines.

Key areas covered include:

• Graphics Simulations: Rendering-library-agnostic models of complex systems.
• Cross-Platform Drawing: Using Microsoft.Maui.Graphics for Windows Forms, WPF, and MAUI.
• High-Performance Rendering: Using SkiaSharp and OpenGL.
• Web-Based Visualization: Using Blazor WebAssembly with HTML Canvas.
• Audio Visualization: Interfacing with audio devices using NAudio and plotting with ScottPlot.

Telerik provides a suite of commercial UI components for data visualization, specifically the ChartView control. It is available for both WPF and WinForms applications.

Key characteristics:

• Theming & Appearance: Designed for easy theming and high-quality visual appearance.
• Animations: Supports animations for simple data sets.
• Interactivity: Includes built-in default interactivity such as left-click-drag for zooming/panning and scroll-wheel for zooming.
• Use Case Note: While visually polished, it may not be optimized for high-performance scientific charting or extremely large datasets.

This project provides implementations for spline interpolation using C#. Spline interpolation is a method of constructing new data points within the range of a discrete set of known data points to create a smooth curve.

For a detailed explanation of the mathematical concepts and the implementation logic, refer to the original blog post: https://swharden.com/blog/2022-01-22-spline-interpolation

The Microsoft.Maui.Graphics package provides a way to perform cross-platform drawing in both .NET Core and .NET Framework applications.

Common usage patterns in this repository include:

• Encapsulated Logic: Creating a .NET Standard library that contains drawing logic using Maui.Graphics (without a dependency on System.Drawing). This library can then be referenced by multiple GUI targets like Maui, Windows Forms, WPF, or even console apps.
• Hardware Acceleration: Using SkiaSharp OpenGL controls within Windows Forms to render Maui.Graphics content for improved performance (e.g., comparing skControl vs skglControl).
• Audio Monitoring: Combining NAudio for sampling with Maui.Graphics for real-time visual feedback.

In ScottPlot 4.1.24, the ScottPlot.Palette module was introduced to manage color schemes. This replaces the older ScottPlot.Drawing.Palette module. While the old module remains available and will not be marked obsolete until ScottPlot 5, it is recommended to use ScottPlot.Palette for new implementations and cookbook recipes.

// Use the new Palette module
ScottPlot.Palette myPalette = ...;

ABF files use a 4-byte signature at the start of the file to distinguish between versions. You can identify the format by checking the 4th byte (index 3):

• ABF2: The 4th byte is 50 (ASCII for '2'). The signature is ABF2.
• ABF1: The 4th byte is 32 (ASCII for a space). The signature is ABF .

When using interactive controls (Windows Forms, WPF, Avalonia, or Eto Forms), you can manipulate the view using the following mouse actions:

• Pan: left-click-drag
• Zoom: right-click-drag
• Zoom region: middle-click-drag
• Zoom: scroll-wheel
• Fit data: middle-click
• Deploy menu: right-click

SciChart is designed for high-performance interactive charting, capable of handling datasets with billions of points. It utilizes hardware acceleration via:

• DirectX on Windows
• OpenGL on Android
• Metal on iOS

It is suitable for real-time data scenarios, such as simulating live incoming data (e.g., 1,000 points every 20 ms) while maintaining comfortable interactive frame rates.

You can distinguish between ABF1 and ABF2 formats by inspecting the first 4 bytes of the file:

• The first 3 bytes must be bABF.
• If the 4th byte is a space ( ), it is an ABF1 file.
• If the 4th byte is 2, it is an ABF2 file.