Visualization of linear time-oriented data: a survey

During the last few years, databases have been growing in size, varieties of data, numbers of users and diversity of applications. Many such applications deal with data characterized by the temporal dimension (e.g. medical records, biographical data, financial data, etc.). Typically, end-users of these data are competent in the field of the application but are not computer experts. They need easy-to-use systems that are able to support them in the task of accessing and manipulating the data contained in the databases. It is well-known that visual techniques are suitable in supporting users interacting with large data sets. However, not much research has been carried on specifically on the relationship between visual techniques and time-dependent data. This paper aims at filling this gap by presenting an overview of the main visual techniques for interactive exploration of time-oriented (historical) information.