面对庞杂的大数据，可视化提供了良好的解读角度与方法，是大数据分析与应用的利器。
本书全面、细致地梳理了可视化的历史，理论，工具与应用案例，旁征博引，图文并茂，内容翔实丰富，专业严谨，是了解可视化知识的不二之选，也特别值得相关从业人员作为案头参考书备存。
本书入选十二五国家重点图书出版规划项目“大数据丛书”，并获得该领域著名学术带头人之一马匡六教授，石教英教授的专序推荐。
本书同时配备了在线资料提供与更新服务，读者可以随时与作者互动，深入探讨。
《大数据丛书：数据可视化》共有16章，分为4篇。基础篇，阐述数据可视化的基础理论和概念，从人的感知和认知出发，介绍数据模型和可视化基础；时空数据篇，介绍带有空间坐标或时间信息的数据的可视化方法，此类数据通过设备在真实物理空间中采集得到或由科学计算模拟产生；非时空数据篇，描述非结构化和非几何的抽象数据的可视化，这些数据既存在于真实物理空间，又是社会空间和网络信息空间的基本表达形式；用户篇，介绍面向各类数据的可视化在实际应用中共同需要的方法、技术和工具，例如交互和可视化评测方法，以及在具体领域的可视化和应用系统。
Visualization, as a discipline in computer science, is a rather young field of study. The field has made many advances over the past 25 years through tremendous basic and application-driven research efforts, and also successfully transferred some of these advances into products and services for data-intensive applications. Visualization as a problem-solving and knowledge discovery tool has become even more important as we enter the Big Data era. Its applications grow from scientific computing, engineering design, biomedicine, cyber security, and intelligence, to social science, transportation studies, and commerce. Visualization will be considered a basic skill, and will likely become part of the standard curriculum in science and engineering.
There is clearly a fast-growing interest in visualization as a discipline, a technology, or a practice. Over the years, I have been asked by many to suggest readings in visualization.So far, no book has ever managed to provide a comprehensive overview of the field,since even the good ones focus on a subarea of visualization, typically reflecting the author’s research endeavors. A visualization textbook is definitely needed. I know a few other book projects are underway, but this book is by far the most comprehensive one I have seen. It provides a fairly complete introduction to essential topics in visualization,as well as information on where the field is today, effectively serving the needs of both practitioners and future researchers in the field. As the field evolves rapidly to cope with demands from new applications and exploiting Big Data, I believe the authors will update the content regularly to reflect the latest and greatest developments in the field,which will make this book a lasting, valuable resource.
While visualization has become an active area of study and practice in the United States and Europe, visualization research and education in Asia would benefit from increased promotion and development. Thus, the publication of this textbook is timely. I praise the dedicated effort of Professor Wei Chen and his co-authors in creating this book, which will help accelerate visualization education, research, and practice in China and other Chinese-speaking countries. I hope to see this book translated into other languages. It will then become an important reference in the field of visualization. I found the book very informative and easy to read. I believe you will enjoy reading it.
Kwan-Liu Ma
Davis, CA
September 20, 2013