Reboot of plotting methods

[gvegayon]

Since #29 is not closed yet, and I've been wanted to get back to this project, I've just implemented a new plotting method (last committed on 76906e2) using gexf-js (by @raphv and friends).

Finally, on the same push, I've included @raphv and @gephi Consortium as copyright holders and coauthors of the R package 😄.

@jbkunst, can you take a look at other methods for viz GEXF files?

[jbkunst]

I think rgexf don't need a plot method because there are a lot of alternatives to plot a networks (from rbase plot, ggplot, to some htmlwidgets), instead we can create something like gexf.to.igraph. (I think igraph is the usual way to manipulate networks and get measures/stats/etc) to give a lot of choices to the users to chart the gexf as they want:

• igraph:::plot.igraph()
• https://briatte.github.io/ggnet/ (the igraph part)
• https://rdrr.io/cran/DiagrammeR/man/from_igraph.html
• https://christophergandrud.github.io/networkD3/#igraph
• http://jkunst.com/highcharter/hchart#igraph
• Plotly (ggnet -> ggplot -> ggplotly)
• And/or develop an htmlwidget for https://github.com/raphv/gexf-js :)!
• http://curleylab.psych.columbia.edu/netviz/netviz1.html

And for the temporal networks use http://statnet.csde.washington.edu/workshops/SUNBELT/current/ndtv/ndtv_workshop.html#render-a-network-in-markdown-document-or-rstudio creating helpers functions.

And obviously provide a lot of examples as vignettes or blog posts.

A relative similar argument is in http://blog.mjskay.com/2017/11/05/i-don-t-want-your-monolithic-ggplot-function/

What do you think?

[gvegayon]

I agree, that's why the igraph.to.gexf and vice versa already exist https://github.com/gvegayon/rgexf/blob/master/R/igraph.r :). What I was asking is actually other JS libraries (like sigma.js) that parse GEXF files, and include those in the package. The networkDynamic format is something that I've been thingking too, but that's for a new issue.

[jbkunst]

I'm lacking of searching skills 😓 sorry.

Ok. So, you want/prefer to implement some JS libraries in the package. right?

[gvegayon]

Yup, just like we used to have with sigma.js (and now we have with gexf-js). Ideally we should have an argument in plot.gexf to choose what method to use, but for now you can work on a stand-alone function and merge it later (if you have the time to do so of course!). I don't know much about JS, and it seems that sigma.js as plenty of that going on. For gexf-js I'm using the servr::httd function to start the web server to lunch the website, you can use the same for sigma.js (I remember you using Rook).

[gvegayon]

By the way, I've just posted an example using rgexf + gexf-js + netdiffuseR (some other project that I'm working on) on my website: http://ggvy.cl/post/reboot-of-rgexf/