Visualizing a Million Time Series with the Density Line Chart

2018/08/17 by Dominik Moritz, Danyel Fisher, Moritz, Dominik +1 · 4 voices · 4 citations
Computer Science · #Data Management and Algorithms #Data Visualization and Analytics #Time Series Analysis and Forecasting #cs.HC

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1808.06019

openalex publication_date 2018/08/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Data analysts often need to work with multiple series of data---conventionally shown as line charts---at once. Few visual representations allow analysts to view many lines simultaneously without becoming overwhelming or cluttered. In this paper, we introduce the DenseLines technique to calculate a discrete density representation of time series. DenseLines normalizes time series by the arc length to compute accurate densities. The derived density visualization allows users both to see the aggregate trends of multiple series and to identify anomalous extrema.

Citations

• MapReduce

Cited by

• Structuring Line Ensembles with Path-Integrated Fidelity and Structural Inconsistency Fields
• Enhancing Line Density Plots with Outlier Control and Bin-based Illumination
• Mosaic Selections: Managing and Optimizing User Selections for Scalable Data Visualization Systems
• TiVy: Time Series Visual Summary for Scalable Visualization

Discussions

• Visualizing a Million Time Series with the Density Line Chart [hn, 30 points, 3 comments]
• Visualizing a Million Time Series with the Density Line Chart [lobsters, 19 points, 1 comments]
• Visualizing a Million Time Series with the Density Line Chart https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.06019 (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43638308) [bsky, 1 points, 0 comments]
• Visualizing a Million Time Series with the Density Line Chart https://lobste.rs/s/2ar8hu #pdf #visualization [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]

Related

• Data Point Selection for Line Chart Visualization: Methodological Assessment and Evidence-Based Guidelines
• Evaluating Line Chart Strategies for Mitigating Density of Temporal Data: The Impact on Trend, Prediction, and Decision-Making
• Time Series Information Visualization -- A Review of Approaches and Tools
• TiVy: Time Series Visual Summary for Scalable Visualization
• Generic Approach to Visualization of Time Series Data