LoginSign Up
← Back to all sparks
B

billboard.js

ANALYTICS
Velocity2.5

D3 based reusable chart library for data visualization

naver.github.io/billboard.js ↗

A canvas renderer and tree-shakable modules turn the 4.0 line into a rewrite, not a refresh

canvas-renderingtree-shakingbundle-sizeweb-workersbreaking-changessubcharts
◆Current state
billboard.js is deep in a 4.x prerelease cycle that reaches past feature work into how the library draws and ships. A canvas rendering mode now sits alongside the long-standing SVG path, ESM builds are tree-shakable down to grid, regions and category modules, and chart.export() and chart.flow() have been pulled out of the default bundle. The releases since then are mostly the follow-up work canvas rendering created — background positioning, touch interaction parity, candlestick label alignment.
◆Where it's heading
The direction is bundle size and rendering throughput, aimed at the cases where SVG stops scaling. The newest prerelease adds a pre-bundled worker with a configurable workerUrl for the boost path, plus configurable subchart rendering and grid line class selectors on canvas, which suggests canvas is moving from a mode you opt into toward one that carries the same feature surface as SVG.
◆Prediction
Expect the remaining canvas gaps to keep closing release by release until the two renderers reach parity, at which point a 4.0 final becomes possible. The entries do not indicate a target date.

◆Recent moves

  1. 9d ago

    Pre-bundled boost worker, configurable subchart rendering

    The first 4.1 prerelease, and it keeps filling in the canvas and performance paths: the boost worker source is pre-bundled with a workerUrl option, canvas gains grid line class selectors, and subcharts get a focus grid toggle and configurable rendering. Fixes cover invalid SVG arc flags under bar.radius and the select API honouring multiple=false.

    View source ↗
  2. 2mo ago

    numberFormat option for the table view plugin

    A small prerelease adding a numberFormat configuration option to plugin-tableview and aligning candlestick labels with their wick endpoints. Incremental polish inside the 4.0 cycle.

    View source ↗
  3. 2mo ago

    Canvas background position and touch interaction parity fixes

    Two corrections to the new canvas path — background image positioning and parity between rendering and touch interaction. The kind of gap that surfaces immediately after a second renderer lands.

    View source ↗
  4. 2mo ago

    4.0.0-next.2

    A single commit addressing canvas render review issues, published minutes after the previous prerelease. Cleanup rather than change.

    View source ↗
  5. 2mo ago

    billboard.js adds a canvas renderer and breaks the default ESM bundle

    ⚡ SPARK

    The release that sets up everything after it: a canvas rendering mode arrives alongside SVG, and ESM builds become tree-shakable across grid, regions and category modules. It also breaks the default bundle — chart.export() and chart.flow() are no longer included — which is why the following prereleases read as canvas cleanup.

    View source ↗
  6. 7mo ago

    Sanitization function update on the 3.18 line

    A lone fix updating the sanitization function on the older 3.18 prerelease line, months before the 4.0 work began. Maintenance on the branch being left behind.

    View source ↗