CSV to flare.json Converter

This Python script ingests a CSV file and converts it into the flare.json format, which is widely used by many D3.js visualizations to create hierarchical structures such as trees and radial trees.

Getting Started

To use this script, ensure you have Python installed on your system and the Pandas library available. You can install Pandas using pip if you haven't already: pip install pandas

Usage

The script is designed to be run from the command line. It takes two arguments: the path to the input CSV file and the path for the output JSON file.

python3 csv2flare.py <path_to_csv_file> <path_to_json_output_file>

Expected CSV Format

The input CSV file should have at least three columns:

• parent: Names or identifiers of the parent nodes.
• child: Names or identifiers of the child nodes associated with their respective parent nodes.
• child_value: Numerical values representing a quantifiable attribute of each child node (e.g., size, width).

Sample CSV Input

parent,child,child_value
Parent1,Child1,100
Parent1,Child2,150
Parent2,Child3,200
Parent2,Child4,50

Output Format

The script outputs a flare.json file structured for use with hierarchical D3.js visualizations. The JSON structure includes name for node names and size for the child nodes' numerical values.

Sample JSON Output

{
  "name": "flare",
  "children": [
    {
      "name": "Parent1",
      "children": [
        {"name": "Child1", "size": 100},
        {"name": "Child2", "size": 150}
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Parent2",
      "children": [
        {"name": "Child3", "size": 200},
        {"name": "Child4", "size": 50}
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Notes

• The script currently supports creating a JSON structure with up to two levels of nesting. To incorporate more levels, further customization of the script is required.
• Ensure that your CSV column names match those expected by the script (parent, child, child_value). If your CSV uses different column names, you will need to modify the script accordingly or adjust your CSV file.
• For a sample visualization using the flare.json output, visit: Sample Visualization.

License

This script is provided under the MIT License.