D3.Js vs. JavaScript InfoVis Toolkit vs. Velocity.js vs. jQuery Comparison Chart

D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. D3 helps you bring data to life using HTML, SVG, and CSS. D3’s emphasis on web standards gives you the full capabilities of modern browsers without tying yourself to a proprietary framework, combining powerful visualization components and a data-driven approach to DOM manipulation. D3 allows you to bind arbitrary data to a Document Object Model (DOM), and then apply data-driven transformations to the document. For example, you can use D3 to generate an HTML table from an array of numbers. Or, use the same data to create an interactive SVG bar chart with smooth transitions and interaction. D3 is not a monolithic framework that seeks to provide every conceivable feature. Instead, D3 solves the crux of the problem: efficient manipulation of documents based on data. This avoids proprietary representation and affords extraordinary flexibility, exposing the full capabilities of web standards such as HTML, SVG, and CSS.

Velocity is an animation engine with the same API as jQuery's animate. It works with and without jQuery. It's incredibly fast, and it features color animation, transforms, loops, easings, SVG support, and scrolling. It is the best of jQuery and CSS transitions combined. Download Velocity, include it on your page and replace all instances of jQuery's animate with velocity. You will immediately see a performance boost across all browsers and devices, especially on mobile. Velocity works everywhere, back to IE8 and Android 2.3. Under the hood, it mimics jQuery's queue, and thus interoperates seamlessly with jQuery's animate, fade, and delay. Since Velocity's syntax is identical to animate, your code doesn't need to change. JavaScript and jQuery are falsely conflated. JavaScript animation, which Velocity uses, is fast; it's jQuery that's slow. Although Velocity works alongside jQuery, it uses its own animation stack that delivers its performance.