# Visualization
> **Comprehensive visualization suite for Knowledge Graphs, Ontologies, Embeddings, and Temporal data.**
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## 🎯 Overview
- :material-graph:{ .lg .middle } **KG Visualization**
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Interactive network graphs with Force-directed, Hierarchical, and Circular layouts
- :material-file-tree:{ .lg .middle } **Ontology View**
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Visualize class hierarchies, property domains/ranges, and taxonomy trees
- :material-chart-scatter-plot:{ .lg .middle } **Embedding Projector**
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2D/3D visualization of vector embeddings using UMAP, t-SNE, and PCA
- :material-clock-time-four-outline:{ .lg .middle } **Temporal Analysis**
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Timeline views and graph evolution visualization
- :material-chart-bar:{ .lg .middle } **Analytics Dashboards**
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Visual dashboards for centrality, community structure, and connectivity
- :material-export:{ .lg .middle } **Multi-Format Export**
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Export to HTML (interactive), PNG, SVG, PDF, and JSON
!!! tip "When to Use"
- **Exploration**: Interactively explore graph connections and clusters
- **Reporting**: Generate static charts for reports and presentations
- **Debugging**: Visually inspect graph structure and disconnected components
- **Analysis**: Identify patterns, outliers, and trends in data
---
## ⚙️ Algorithms Used
### Layout Algorithms
- **Force-Directed**: Simulates physical forces (repulsion between nodes, springs for edges) to find equilibrium.
- **Hierarchical**: Tree-based layout for taxonomies and directed acyclic graphs (DAGs).
- **Circular**: Arranges nodes in a circle, useful for analyzing interconnectivity.
- **Community-Based**: Groups nodes by community (Louvain/Leiden) and separates clusters.
### Dimensionality Reduction
- **UMAP**: Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection. Preserves global structure better than t-SNE.
- **t-SNE**: t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding. Good for local clustering.
- **PCA**: Principal Component Analysis. Linear projection for variance maximization.
### Analytics Visualization
- **Centrality Sizing**: Node size proportional to Degree/Betweenness/PageRank.
- **Heatmaps**: Matrix visualization for adjacency or similarity.
- **Sankey Diagrams**: Flow visualization for lineage or process steps.
---
## Main Classes
### KGVisualizer
Visualizes Knowledge Graph structure and communities.
**Methods:**
| Method | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `visualize_network(graph)` | Standard network plot |
| `visualize_communities(graph)` | Color by community |
| `visualize_path(path)` | Highlight specific path |
**Example:**
```python
from semantica.visualization import KGVisualizer
viz = KGVisualizer(layout="force", height=800)
fig = viz.visualize_network(kg, output="interactive")
fig.write_html("graph.html")
```
### OntologyVisualizer
Visualizes schema and taxonomy.
**Methods:**
| Method | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `visualize_hierarchy(ontology)` | Tree view of classes |
| `visualize_properties(ontology)` | Property domain/range graph |
### EmbeddingVisualizer
Project high-dimensional vectors to 2D/3D.
**Methods:**
| Method | Description | Algorithm |
|--------|-------------|-----------|
| `visualize_2d(embeddings)` | 2D Scatter plot | UMAP/t-SNE |
| `visualize_3d(embeddings)` | 3D Scatter plot | UMAP/t-SNE |
| `visualize_clusters(embeddings)` | Colored by cluster | K-Means/DBSCAN |
**Example:**
```python
from semantica.visualization import EmbeddingVisualizer
viz = EmbeddingVisualizer()
viz.visualize_2d_projection(
embeddings,
labels=labels,
method="umap",
output="embeddings.html"
)
```
### TemporalVisualizer
Visualizes time-series and graph evolution.
**Methods:**
| Method | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `visualize_timeline(events)` | Event timeline |
| `visualize_evolution(snapshots)` | Graph changes over time |
---
## Convenience Functions
```python
from semantica.visualization import visualize_kg, visualize_embeddings
# One-line visualization
visualize_kg(kg, output="graph.html")
visualize_embeddings(embeddings, method="umap")
```
---
## Configuration
### Environment Variables
```bash
export VIZ_DEFAULT_LAYOUT=force
export VIZ_COLOR_SCHEME=vibrant
export VIZ_RENDERER=plotly
```
### YAML Configuration
```yaml
visualization:
layout:
algorithm: force
iterations: 50
style:
node_size: 10
edge_width: 1
color_scheme: "vibrant" # vibrant, pastel, dark
export:
width: 1200
height: 800
scale: 2.0
```
---
## Integration Examples
### Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)
```python
from semantica.ingest import Ingestor
from semantica.kg import KnowledgeGraph
from semantica.visualization import KGVisualizer, AnalyticsVisualizer
# 1. Load Data
kg = KnowledgeGraph.load("my_graph")
# 2. Visualize Structure
kg_viz = KGVisualizer()
kg_viz.visualize_network(kg, output="structure.html")
# 3. Visualize Analytics
analytics_viz = AnalyticsVisualizer()
analytics_viz.visualize_centrality(kg, output="centrality.png")
analytics_viz.visualize_degree_distribution(kg, output="degree_dist.png")
```
---
## Best Practices
1. **Filter First**: Don't try to visualize 1M nodes. Filter to a subgraph of <5000 nodes for readability.
2. **Use Interactive**: Interactive HTML plots (Plotly) allow zooming and hovering, which is essential for dense graphs.
3. **Color Meaningfully**: Use color to represent node types or communities, not just random assignment.
4. **Size by Importance**: Map node size to centrality (e.g., PageRank) to highlight important entities.
---
## See Also
- [Knowledge Graph Module](kg.md) - The data source
- [Embeddings Module](embeddings.md) - Source for vector visualizations
- [Ontology Module](ontology.md) - Source for hierarchy visualizations