Scalable Vector Graphics

Abstract

This chapter explores a powerful two-dimensional graphics format named SVG (scalable vector graphics), which is becoming widely used to represent object-based, vector (nonraster) graphics both on the Web and elsewhere. In addition to displaying scalable plots, the XML-based SVG format provides functionality for interactivity, animation, and a number of filtering effects that allow us to create rich graphical displays, and also to integrate them with Web pages. R can create static SVG displays, and we can post-process them within R as XML documents to add interaction and animation. We show how to provide simple interaction and animation with high-level R functions, and also how to add more customized interaction using R commands that use JavaScript at viewing time. We also discuss how to use both SVG and HTML to create rich “applications” and mash-ups in the Web browser.