For a start, not a replacement for a hacker producing something for you, you might want to investigate what some of the existing jQuery plug-ins (not the cool/kewl UI widgets) can do already. Try http://plugins.jquery.com/projects/plugins?type=54 As part of a similar investigation I have been impressed with the functionality of "Datatables" from that list. I have not used it in anger yet, but it does a lot of what you are looking for.

Peter Noerr

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Eric Lease Morgan
> Sent: Friday, September 24, 2010 6:09 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [CODE4LIB] json challenge, or hackers wanted
> 
> This is a JSON challenge, or a hackers wanted call. Specifically, I am looking for leads on how to
> slurp up a JSON file and create a cool (or "kewl") Web interface to the data. Let me explain.
> 
> I have created a small matrix consisting of about 125 rows by 125 columns. Each row represents a book
> in the series called the Great Books of the Western World. Columns include identifiers, word counts,
> grade levels, readability scores, and integers I call "Great Idea Coefficients". For more information
> about this data, see the blog posting. [1]
> 
> Here's the challenge:
> 
>   1. convert the matrix into a JSON object
>   2. save the object as a file
>   3. write a Javascript library allowing the
>      patron to manipulate, aggregate, summarize,
>      chart, and display variations of the JSON
> 
> For example, slurp up the JSON and simply display a pretty list of all the elements. Allow the user to
> sort the list by author, title, length, or any one of the Coefficients. Allow the user to select only
> the items authored by Shakespeare and display the same sort of... sorts. Allow the user to select all
> the items with a love Coefficient greater than n, sort them by n, and illustrate the result using a
> bar chart. Create a scatter plot denoting any relationships between length of book and its "greatness".
> Allow the user to drag and drop selected items into a container (a div element) and summarize them
> according to grade level or readability. Etc.
> 
> The goal is to allow the patron to analyze the texts -- do "distant reading" -- and to create many
> different visualizations.
> 
> Ideally this Javascript library would exploit JQuery for all of its cool user interface
> characteristics.
> 
> In the end, the techniques used to quantitatively describe the Great Books could be applied to other
> texts (other books, blog postings, open access journal articles, etc.), and this Javascript library
> could be used as a part of a "next, next generation library catalog" or "discovery system".
> 
> Fun?
> 
> [1] blog - http://infomotions.com/blog/2010/09/great-books-data-dictionary/
> 
> --
> Eric Morgan
> University of Notre Dame