d3-interpolate

This module provides a variety of interpolation methods for blending between two values. Values may be numbers, colors, strings, arrays, or even deeply-nested objects. For example:

const i = d3.interpolateNumber(10, 20);
i(0.0); // 10
i(0.2); // 12
i(0.5); // 15
i(1.0); // 20

The returned function i is called an interpolator. Given a starting value a and an ending value b, it takes a parameter t in the domain [0, 1] and returns the corresponding interpolated value between a and b. An interpolator typically returns a value equivalent to a at t = 0 and a value equivalent to b at t = 1.

You can interpolate more than just numbers. To find the perceptual midpoint between steelblue and brown:

d3.interpolateLab("steelblue", "brown")(0.5); // "rgb(142, 92, 109)"

Here’s a more elaborate example demonstrating type inference used by interpolate:

const i = d3.interpolate({colors: ["red", "blue"]}, {colors: ["white", "black"]});
i(0.0); // {colors: ["rgb(255, 0, 0)", "rgb(0, 0, 255)"]}
i(0.5); // {colors: ["rgb(255, 128, 128)", "rgb(0, 0, 128)"]}
i(1.0); // {colors: ["rgb(255, 255, 255)", "rgb(0, 0, 0)"]}

Note that the generic value interpolator detects not only nested objects and arrays, but also color strings and numbers embedded in strings!

Installing

If you use npm, npm install d3-interpolate. You can also download the latest release on GitHub. For vanilla HTML in modern browsers, import d3-interpolate from Skypack:

<script type="module">

import {interpolateRgb} from "https://cdn.skypack.dev/d3-interpolate@3";

const interpolate = interpolateRgb("steelblue", "brown");

</script>

For legacy environments, you can load d3-interpolate’s UMD bundle from an npm-based CDN such as jsDelivr; a d3 global is exported. (If using color interpolation, also load d3-color.)

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/d3-color@3"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/d3-interpolate@3"></script>
<script>

const interpolate = d3.interpolateRgb("steelblue", "brown");

</script>

API Reference

# d3.interpolate(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two arbitrary values a and b. The interpolator implementation is based on the type of the end value b, using the following algorithm:

1. If b is null, undefined or a boolean, use the constant b.
2. If b is a number, use interpolateNumber.
3. If b is a color or a string coercible to a color, use interpolateRgb.
4. If b is a date, use interpolateDate.
5. If b is a string, use interpolateString.
6. If b is a typed array of numbers, use interpolateNumberArray.
7. If b is a generic array, use interpolateArray.
8. If b is coercible to a number, use interpolateNumber.
9. Use interpolateObject.

Based on the chosen interpolator, a is coerced to the suitable corresponding type.

# d3.interpolateNumber(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two numbers a and b. The returned interpolator is equivalent to:

function interpolator(t) {
  return a * (1 - t) + b * t;
}

Caution: avoid interpolating to or from the number zero when the interpolator is used to generate a string. When very small values are stringified, they may be converted to scientific notation, which is an invalid attribute or style property value in older browsers. For example, the number 0.0000001 is converted to the string "1e-7". This is particularly noticeable with interpolating opacity. To avoid scientific notation, start or end the transition at 1e-6: the smallest value that is not stringified in scientific notation.

# d3.interpolateRound(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two numbers a and b; the interpolator is similar to interpolateNumber, except it will round the resulting value to the nearest integer.

# d3.interpolateString(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two strings a and b. The string interpolator finds numbers embedded in a and b, where each number is of the form understood by JavaScript. A few examples of numbers that will be detected within a string: -1, 42, 3.14159, and 6.0221413e+23.

For each number embedded in b, the interpolator will attempt to find a corresponding number in a. If a corresponding number is found, a numeric interpolator is created using interpolateNumber. The remaining parts of the string b are used as a template: the static parts of the string b remain constant for the interpolation, with the interpolated numeric values embedded in the template.

For example, if a is "300 12px sans-serif", and b is "500 36px Comic-Sans", two embedded numbers are found. The remaining static parts (of string b) are a space between the two numbers (" "), and the suffix ("px Comic-Sans"). The result of the interpolator at t = 0.5 is "400 24px Comic-Sans".

# d3.interpolateDate(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two dates a and b.

Note: no defensive copy of the returned date is created; the same Date instance is returned for every evaluation of the interpolator. No copy is made for performance reasons; interpolators are often part of the inner loop of animated transitions.

# d3.interpolateArray(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two arrays a and b. If b is a typed array (e.g., Float64Array), interpolateNumberArray is called instead.

Internally, an array template is created that is the same length as b. For each element in b, if there exists a corresponding element in a, a generic interpolator is created for the two elements using interpolate. If there is no such element, the static value from b is used in the template. Then, for the given parameter t, the template’s embedded interpolators are evaluated. The updated array template is then returned.

For example, if a is the array [0, 1] and b is the array [1, 10, 100], then the result of the interpolator for t = 0.5 is the array [0.5, 5.5, 100].

Note: no defensive copy of the template array is created; modifications of the returned array may adversely affect subsequent evaluation of the interpolator. No copy is made for performance reasons; interpolators are often part of the inner loop of animated transitions.

# d3.interpolateNumberArray(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two arrays of numbers a and b. Internally, an array template is created that is the same type and length as b. For each element in b, if there exists a corresponding element in a, the values are directly interpolated in the array template. If there is no such element, the static value from b is copied. The updated array template is then returned.

Note: For performance reasons, no defensive copy is made of the template array and the arguments a and b; modifications of these arrays may affect subsequent evaluation of the interpolator.

# d3.interpolateObject(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two objects a and b. Internally, an object template is created that has the same properties as b. For each property in b, if there exists a corresponding property in a, a generic interpolator is created for the two elements using interpolate. If there is no such property, the static value from b is used in the template. Then, for the given parameter t, the template's embedded interpolators are evaluated and the updated object template is then returned.

For example, if a is the object {x: 0, y: 1} and b is the object {x: 1, y: 10, z: 100}, the result of the interpolator for t = 0.5 is the object {x: 0.5, y: 5.5, z: 100}.

Object interpolation is particularly useful for dataspace interpolation, where data is interpolated rather than attribute values. For example, you can interpolate an object which describes an arc in a pie chart, and then use d3.arc to compute the new SVG path data.

Note: no defensive copy of the template object is created; modifications of the returned object may adversely affect subsequent evaluation of the interpolator. No copy is made for performance reasons; interpolators are often part of the inner loop of animated transitions.

# d3.interpolateTransformCss(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two 2D CSS transforms represented by a and b. Each transform is decomposed to a standard representation of translate, rotate, x-skew and scale; these component transformations are then interpolated. This behavior is standardized by CSS: see matrix decomposition for animation.

# d3.interpolateTransformSvg(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two 2D SVG transforms represented by a and b. Each transform is decomposed to a standard representation of translate, rotate, x-skew and scale; these component transformations are then interpolated. This behavior is standardized by CSS: see matrix decomposition for animation.

# d3.interpolateZoom(a, b) · Source, Examples

Returns an interpolator between the two views a and b of a two-dimensional plane, based on “Smooth and efficient zooming and panning” by Jarke J. van Wijk and Wim A.A. Nuij. Each view is defined as an array of three numbers: cx, cy and width. The first two coordinates cx, cy represent the center of the viewport; the last coordinate width represents the size of the viewport.

The returned interpolator exposes a duration property which encodes the recommended transition duration in milliseconds. This duration is based on the path length of the curved trajectory through x,y space. If you want a slower or faster transition, multiply this by an arbitrary scale factor (V as described in the original paper).

# interpolateZoom.rho(rho) · Source

Given a zoom interpolator, returns a new zoom interpolator using the specified curvature rho. When rho is close to 0, the interpolator is almost linear. The default curvature is sqrt(2).

# d3.interpolateDiscrete(values) · Source, Examples

Returns a discrete interpo