Re: Trying to get chart from table working

[Peter Davis <pfd@pfdstudio.com>]

On Mon, Oct 2, 2017, at 07:22 AM, Robert Horn wrote:
> 
> Peter Davis writes:
> 
> > Basically, I want to plot a time series graph showing my PSA (prostate
> > specific antigen) over time. The PSA is measured at irregular intervals,
> > and has been for over 4 years (and hopefully will continue for many more
> > years.) That should be a simple enough graph. I've already got a
> > javascript d3 example that does this, but I'd like to embed it in a
> > document, and to be able to generate PDF.
> >
> > Further, I want to be able to show different time intervals with tinted
> > bands spanning the full range of the graph, and having specific start
> > and end dates. These would represent various medical treatments I've
> > undergone. I have a rough example I've mocked up in Photoshop, but, of
> > course, I want to be able to add new data and re-generate the chart as
> > needed. I don't know if I can attach a PNG to an email on this list.
> >
> 
> I do something similar for managing diabetes.
> 
> I use org-mode to manage some (not all) of the data tables and org-babel
> to control a graphics and statistics analysis in R.  R can also handle
> input in other formats, such as CSV, that I get from some sources. The
> results are also displayed in the org window as output from R.
> 
> This is a much heavier weight solution, since it involves learning R. 
> But
> the graphics capabilities are immensely richer than gnuplot and the
> mathematical capabilities for statistics and time series analysis are
> immensely richer in R.
> 
> If learning R benefits your work or career you might explore this.
> 

Thanks, Robert. I've had considered R as a possible tool for this
effort. I actually used it briefly for a data visualization course I
took a few years ago, but there's still a lot more learning I would have
to do to accomplish this. 

On the other hand, it seems every other path I've tried has a large
learning curve too, so I should give R another look.

Thanks,
-pd


-- 
  Peter Davis
  www.techcurmudgeon.com