dynamic_plot

Pelican plugin for embedding custom D3 and three.js scripts and associated CSS. This is a rewrite/extension of Rob Story's plugin. A live example can be found here.

Requirements

Python >= 3.6

How

To install the plugin, follow the instructions on the Pelican plugin page.:

pelicanconf.py:

PLUGINS = ['dynamic_plot']

DYNAMIC_PLOT_OPTIONS = {
    # "dynplot_modules": True,
    # "dynplot_d3_url' " "https://d3js.org/d3.v5.min.js" (default) 
    # "dynplot_three_url" : "https://threejs.org/build/three.min.js" (default) 
}

and then add each resource as a comma-separated file name in the dynplot_scripts and dynplot_styles tags:

title: Using D3.js and three.js
date: 2020-04-16
summary: D3 and three.js usage...
dynplot_d3_url: https://d3js.org/d3.v4.js
dynplot_scripts: leibniz_d3.js, sphere_three.js, [files.json], ../up.js
dynplot_styles: leibniz_d3.css, /global.css

• dynplot_modules: (default: True) JS will be included as ES6 module <script type="module" src="..."></script>. The effective url's of the following two variables must reflect this. They can be empty though, if managing their content in dynplot_scripts itself.

• dynplot_d3_url: (default: 'https://d3js.org/d3.v5.min.js')

• dynplot_three_url: (default: 'https://threejs.org/build/three.module.js')

• dynplot_scripts: The users script files for this blog entry

• dynplot_styles: The users CSS files for this blog entry

Options are evaluated with increasing priority: defaults -> pelican.conf -> article/page tags. All JS and CSS will be copied to the output folder. Here, a leading forward slash for file names in dynplot_sripts and dynplot_styles means, that the name is considered relative to the root folder itself. Otherwise, he is relative to the respective article or page. Names in brackets are considered as json file with a single array of file names. The file itself and also its content follow the same rule for relative and absolute paths as stated above. Example:

[
    "2020-04-20/lib/three.js",
    "2020-04-20/lib/OrbitControls.js",
]

Finally, in your base template (likely named base.html), you need to add the following in your head tags:

{% if article %}
    {% if article.dynplot_styles %}
        {% for style in article.dynplot_styles %}
{{ style }}
        {% endfor %}
    {% endif %}
{% endif %}

and the following after the closing </body> and before </html>:

{% if article %}
    {% if article.dynplot_scripts %}
        {% for script in article.dynplot_scripts %}
{{ script }}
        {% endfor %}
    {% endif %}
{% endif %}

The same can be done for pages.

Using D3 or/and three.js in a Blog Post

With Markdown, this is pretty easy. Just add the raw HTML for your chart element in the middle of your markdown text:

D3 plot in blog post: 

<div class="leibniz-spiral" style="width:960px; height:400px;"></div>

... and three graphics:

<div class="three-sphere" style="width:600px; height:400px;"></div>

Then within your D3 script, make sure you're selecting that element:

var svg = d3.select(".leibniz-spiral").append("svg")

or if using three:

var el = document.querySelector('.three-sphere');
el.appendChild(renderer.domElement);

Ensure that your js files are loaded after your body tags (as outlined above) so that it selects an existing element on the page.

TODO

• Support of stricter non-scripting policies by [semi-]automatically created placeholders.
• Supporting local D3 and three.js installations

Refer to snippets/readme.md for additional information.