Question

I’m creating a line chart in d3.js like this:

var line = d3.svg.line()
    .interpolate("basis")
    .x(function(d) { return x(d.date); })
    .y(function(d) { return y(d.temperature); });

I then want to put dots on the line data points like this:

var points = svg.selectAll(".point")
        .data(cities1[0].values)
      .enter().append("svg:circle")
         .attr("stroke", "black")
         .attr("fill", function(d, i) { return "black" })
         .attr("cx", function(d, i) { return x(d.date) })
         .attr("cy", function(d, i) { return y(d.temperature) })
         .attr("r", function(d, i) { return 3 });

The result is not what I expect:

I then change interpolate(“basis”) to interpolate(“cardinal”) and get what I want:

Why did I got the wrong result with basis? How can I draw the accurate points with basis too?

EDIT: A similar (unanswered) question. Check out this jsfiddle. It will only work if changing the interpolate from basis to cardinal (or other) mode. But Cardinal has a problem that it does not respect the max height of the graph. What I’m looking for is an explanation on why some interpolation modes prevent from putting the points in the right place (and why cardinal does not respect max height).

Answer 1

This is unfortunately a property of the “basis” interpolation — the line doesn’t necessarily run through the points. There’s no way of “fixing” this. Unless you absolutely need this particular interpolation, just stick with one that allows you to get the points right.

You could implement a custom interpolation that gives you access to the points the line runs through and add circles accordingly. This will require a somewhat in-depth knowledge of how d3 and line interpolators work though.