Wigis: A framework for scalable web-based interactive graph visualizations

Abstract. Traditional network visualization tools inherently suffer from scal-ability problems, particularly when such tools are interactive and web-based. In this paper we introduce WiGis –Web-based Interactive Graph Visualizations. WiGis1 exemplify a fully web-based framework for visualizing large-scale graphs natively in a user’s browser at interactive frame rates with no discernible associ-ated startup costs. We demonstrate fast, interactive graph animations for up to hundreds of thousands of nodes in a browser through the use of asynchronous data and image transfer. Empirical evaluations show that our system outperforms traditional web-based graph visualization tools by at least an order of magnitude in terms of scalability, while maintaining fast, high-quality interaction.