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Welcome to the GovHack toolkit. This page provides all the information you need to prepare hackfest entries. #GovHack Toolkit
These tools can be used to make entries like: mobile apps, web apps, data visualisations/infographics Welcome to the GovHack toolkit. This page provides all the information you need to prepare hackfest entries.
  These tools can be used to make entries like mobile apps, web apps and data visualisations/infographics.
   
- govhack toolkit!!!! The text of this toolkit is open for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution licence and improvements are encouraged via Git http://github.com/maxious/govhack-tools or via email patches to govhack@lambdacomplex.org
- key datasets, directory.gov.au gazetter/AEC electorates/suburbs/postcodes/LGAs  
  # How to register and submit your entry
- definitions, open licence reuse permissive hacker hack data journalism data bis UCX etc. ## Registering your team
- what do govhack entries look like? Coming Soon: how to use the website "Hacker Space" to register and find teams.
- roles; coder, designer UX/graphics  
  ## Preparing your submission
   
  You should record a 3 minute speech and mix images/text to accompany.
geo [Screenr] (http://www.screenr.com/) , [ActivePresenter Free Edition](http://atomisystems.com/activepresenter/free-edition/) and other screencasting tools allow you to demo apps.
- http://converter.mygeodata.eu/vector kml exporter for shp To mix together clips, you can use youtube video editor http://www.youtube.com/editor or local software like http://www.videolan.org/vlmc/ or http://www.lwks.com/
- http://bost.ocks.org/mike/map/  
  You also need to submit your "source material". For an application this may be source code, for another work it might be your notes or prototypes.
R The key thing here is that your source material demonstrates to the judges that some of the end result was your own work and that it is possible for another person to replicate that work.
- http://blog.yhathq.com/posts/10-R-packages-I-wish-I-knew-about-earlier.html  
- excel -> R/rattle/ deducer? http://www.r-bloggers.com/updates-to-the-deducer-family-of-packages/  
  # General References
   
   
- tools.disclo.gs - how to use data ## The basics of being a data scientist
- developer tools inc. linked data  
- gephi -> neo4j * Have a hypothesis - even if you're making a tool/api that helps people with their questions too, remember what the objective of that is.
- neo4j lets you build on, do massive queries of who is friends with who * Find the people and tools you need to prove/show/find. This rest of this page will help with the latter.
- don't use network viz if what you actually have is a tree/hierarchy with no interconnections http://www.randelshofer.ch/treeviz/ http://thejit.org/demos/ http://mbostock.github.com/protovis/ex/treemap.html http://blog.pixelingene.com/2011/07/building-a-tree-diagram-in-d3-js/ * Analyse and present results - were they what you expected? Do they help explain to others what you have found out?
- http://mbostock.github.com/d3/ex/pack.html http://mbostock.github.com/d3/ex/tree.html Can present as a interactive data visualisation or a web/mobile application or just a infographic/motion graphics video that tells a story.
- postgis/quantum gis  
- (google earth is alright but many limitations) NASA World Wind? [![](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_m6a65720f-300x199.gif "Data Journalism Diagram")](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_m6a65720f.gif)</dt>
- ABS statistical areas Illustration from Data Journalism Handbook, CC BY-SA 3.0</dd>
- http://irs.gis-lab.info/ wms or http://www.gdal.org/frmt_wms_openstreetmap_tms.xml  
- can do nearest/isin/union queries - personal geocoder The best high level reference is the 'Understanding Data' and 'Delivering Data' chapters of the Data Journalism Handbook which is available online for free at
- cloudmade geocoder, google maps my maps [datajournalismhandbook.org](http://datajournalismhandbook.org/)
- base layers like agri or nearmap  
- scraperwiki with new pytemplate libraries You can learn the technical skills from scratch in Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics by Nathan Yau or for more advanced
- makes an API for your data to get in sqlite/json/csv practical advice check out Data Analysis with Open Source Tools by Philipp K. Janert
- three.js with cables vis? Overviewer from AP? For further reading in this space
- govhack library [http://flowingdata.com/2012/04/27/data-and-visualization-blogs-worth-following/](http://flowingdata.com/2012/04/27/data-and-visualization-blogs-worth-following/)
- http://hpneo.github.com/gmaps/examples.html  
- https://graphics.stanford.edu/wikis/cs448b-12-fall/ data viz theory  
- https://mixpanel.com/education/understanding-the-first-five-minutes **Statistics**
- http://drawingbynumbers.org/toolsandresources  
- http://wmbriggs.com/blog/?p=6465 A great guide to statistics is
- http://ofps.oreilly.com/titles/9781449339739/k_00000002.html list of d3 alternatives [Think Stats](http://greenteapress.com/thinkstats/html/index.html)
- http://craigkerstiens.com/2012/10/01/understanding-postgres-performance/  
- https://github.com/clips/pattern for easy NLP/network analysis/data mining **Programming**
- https://github.com/theodi/open-data-tech-review/wiki othr cleanup/linked data toola  
- http://selection.datavisualization.ch/ data viz tools catalog Programming is valuable skill for manipulating and displaying data.
- manipulating data - grep/find replace/sed/regex Basic tutorials for a variety of languages are available for free online or you can learn interactively with websites like [Codecademy for JavaScript](http://www.codecademy.com/#!/exercises/0), [Learn Python](http://www.learnpython.org/) or [Try Ruby](http://tryruby.org/)
- d3 tools and tutorial http://enjalot.com/ http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4608440  
- Why d3 is the way it is and how to make charts http://bost.ocks.org/mike/chart/ For web applications and visualisations, you'll need a basic understanding of JavaScript in order to configure pre made libraries like jQuery. A good source for Javascript information is the [Mozilla Development Network Javascript Page](https://developer.mozilla.org/en/JavaScript)
- how to make an xkcd chart http://bl.ocks.org/3914862  
  **Accessibility/User Experience**
- data viz  
- http://k2company.com/blog/2012/09/06/toolbox-for-learning-machine-learning-and-data-science/ Following accessibility guidelines not only make a application accessible but make it a better experience for all users! Even if not making an app, good to consider these things to do and not do when designing for humans: [http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/](http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/)
- http://williamparry.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/putting-data-into-google-fusion-tables.html google fusion tutorial  
- andrewharvey4.wordpress.com postgis/asgs tutorial  
- http://www.slideshare.net/maxdemarzi/etl-into-neo4j  
  # Developer Tools For Your Computer
- http://www.twotorials.com/ for R No matter what kind of application you have for the data, there are many tools you can use to better collaborate and manage your project.
- http://www.r-bloggers.com/gradient-word-clouds/ http://www.rstudio.com/shiny/ http://blog.ouseful.info/2012/11/28/quick-shiny-demo-exploring-nhs-winter-sit-rep-data/ https://github.com/timelyportfolio/shiny-d3-plot https://github.com/trestletech/shiny-sandbox/tree/master/grn  
- http://is-r.tumblr.com/post/38240018815/making-prettier-network-graphs-with-sna-and-igraph ### Source Control
- http://www.r-bloggers.com/video-simpler-tricks-and-tools-help-debugging-git-latex-and-workflow-with-r-by-prof-rob-hyndman/ Using a version control system like Git or Subversion allows you to keep many different versions of what you have been working on so you can collaborate with others or simply back up your files so you don't lose them!
- http://yihui.name/knitr/ makes reports including google widgets/charts/maps via http://www.r-bloggers.com/googlevis-0-3-2-is-released-better-integration-with-knitr/  
- http://chartsnthings.tumblr.com/post/36978271916/r-tutorial-simple-charts http://flowingdata.com/2012/12/17/getting-started-with-charts-in-r/ [![](img/Screenshot-at-2012-04-29-172132-300x235.png "Git Screenshot")](http://progit.org/book/)
   
- http://dydra.com/ There are [tutorials on git](http://progit.org/book/) and GUIs to help you like [TortoiseGit for Windows](http://code.google.com/p/tortoisegit/) and [Atlassian SourceTree for Windows and OSX](http://sourcetreeapp.com/) (or if you prefer the console [tig](http://blogs.atlassian.com/2013/05/git-tig/))
- http://selection.datavisualization.ch/ data viz tools list There is also a [manual for Subversion](http://svnbook.red-bean.com/) and a [similar GUI for Subversion](http://tortoisesvn.net/)
- http://nodexl.codeplex.com/ network graphs for excel  
- http://sunfoundation.tumblr.com/  
- analysing - linked data tools ### Task Tracking
- http://govcampau.wikispaces.com/useful+tools  
- http://linkeddata.org/home Issue/task trackers allow you to outline the tasks required for your project and assign them to people to do.
   
  [Trello](https://trello.com/) and [Workflowy](https://workflowy.com/) are free, lightweight project management tools suitable for a rapid project!
# Hosted Developer Tools {#hosted-developer-tools}  
  ## Virtual Servers
  Many free services to try out virtual/cloud servers before scaling up: https://www.chunkhost.com/ or heroku or https://www.appfog.com/pricing/
   
  ## Hosted Developer Tools
   
  Can get many tools (source control, issue tracking) combined into one service cloud hosted so there's no setup required.
   
  ### Github / BitBucket
  Github provides Git but [Subversion (svn)](https://github.com/blog/626-announcing-svn-support) and [Mercurial (hg)](http://hg-git.github.io/) interfaces are also available. Github provide their own GUI for Windows/OSX or you can use a variety of Git capable tools https://github.com/
  Similarly Atlassian provide BitBucket accessible via Git and Mercurial (hg) https://bitbucket.org/
   
### Sourceforge ### Sourceforge
   
Subversion, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar, CVS, issue tracker, wiki, release file downloads. Unlimited free use for open source projects. Subversion, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar, CVS, issue tracker, wiki, release file downloads. Unlimited free use for open source projects.
   
You can create your own Sourceforge project at [http://sourceforge.net/](http://sourceforge.net/) You can create your own Sourceforge project at [http://sourceforge.net/](http://sourceforge.net/)
   
### Google Code Project Hosting ### Google Code Project Hosting
   
Git, Mercurial, and Subversion code. Issue tracker, wiki, release file downloads. Unlimited free use for open source projects. Git, Mercurial, and Subversion code. Issue tracker, wiki, release file downloads. Unlimited free use for open source projects.
   
You can host your Google Code project and get access to developer tools, APIs and documentation at [http://code.google.com/](http://code.google.com/) You can host your Google Code project and get access to developer tools, APIs and documentation at [http://code.google.com/](http://code.google.com/)
   
   
  # Applications of data hacking
# The basics of being a data scientist  
  ## API Development
* Have a hypothesis � even if you&#8217;re making a tool/api that helps people with their questions too, remember what the objective of that is.  
* Find the people and tools you need to prove/show/find. This rest of this page will help with the latter.  
* Analyse and present results � were they what you expected? Do they help explain to others what you have found out? Can present as a interactive data visualisation or a web/mobile application or just a infographic/motion graphics video that tells a story. So an API isn't just an XML file!
Please note, there are a combination of Analysis and Visualisation tools in each of the major categories below.  
   
# API Development {#api-development}  
   
   
So an API isn&#8217;t just an XML file ![;)](http://www.govhack.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)  
   
A good web based data API: A good web based data API:
   
* Is logically organised * Is logically organised
* Can filter returned data * Can filter returned data
* Can return results in different open formats (CSV/JSON etc.) * Can return results in different open formats (CSV/JSON etc.)
* Is efficient and responsive by using caching and databases appropriately * Is efficient and responsive by using caching and databases appropriately
* Handles errors gracefully * Handles errors gracefully
* Monitors and controls access (to show benefit realised of API and prevent abuse) * Monitors and controls access (to show benefit realised of API and prevent abuse)
* Provides appropriate documentation with examples * Provides appropriate documentation with examples
   
Some people like sensis [http://](http://developers.sensis.com.au/)[developers.sensis.com.<wbr>au</wbr>](http://developers.sensis.com.au/)[/](http://developers.sensis.com.au/) use a provider like[http://](http://mashery.com/)[mashery.com](http://mashery.com/)[/](http://mashery.com/) or [https](https://apigee.com/)[://](https://apigee.com/)[apigee.com](https://apigee.com/) or [http://](http://apiaxle.com/)[apiaxle.com](http://apiaxle.com/)[/](http://apiaxle.com/) or [http://www.3scale.net/](http://www.3scale.net/) which handles making a good API for them. Some people like sensis [http://](http://developers.sensis.com.au/)[developers.sensis.com.<wbr>au</wbr>](http://developers.sensis.com.au/)[/](http://developers.sensis.com.au/) use a provider like[http://](http://mashery.com/)[mashery.com](http://mashery.com/)[/](http://mashery.com/) or [https](https://apigee.com/)[://](https://apigee.com/)[apigee.com](https://apigee.com/) or [http://](http://apiaxle.com/)[apiaxle.com](http://apiaxle.com/)[/](http://apiaxle.com/) or [http://www.3scale.net/](http://www.3scale.net/) which handles making a good API for them.
   
Atlassian have a great page on what makes a good API [https](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)[://](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)[developer.atlassian.<wbr>com</wbr>](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)[/display/REST/](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)[Atlassian](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)[+<wbr>REST+API+Design+Guidelines+<wbr>version+1</wbr></wbr>](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1) Atlassian have a great page on what makes a good API https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)
   
API HowTo.gov has a bunch of api resources about choosing SOAP vs. REST etc. http://www.howto.gov/mobile/apis-in-government
- howto.gov api tutorial  
- http://shancarter.com/data_converter/ API documentation is important too! Traditionally for SOAP APIs, you use WSDL but for REST try [Swagger](http://swagger.wordnik.com/) or [iodocs](https://github.com/mashery/iodocs)
- http://training.sunlightfoundation.com/module/data-visualizations-google-docs/ Many web app frameworks can generate the documentation for you. For example Symfony for PHP http://symfony.com/ https://github.com/FriendsOfSymfony/FOSRestBundle http://williamdurand.fr/2012/08/02/rest-apis-with-symfony2-the-right-way/ https://github.com/nelmio/NelmioApiDocBundle https://github.com/liip/LiipHelloBundle
- api documentation Or for Ruby on Rails there is is https://github.com/elc/rapi_doc https://github.com/Pajk/apipie-rails
- WSDL or http://swagger.wordnik.com/ or https://github.com/mashery/iodocs  
- http://symfony.com/ https://github.com/FriendsOfSymfony/FOSRestBundle http://williamdurand.fr/2012/08/02/rest-apis-with-symfony2-the-right-way/ https://github.com/nelmio/NelmioApiDocBundle better apis https://github.com/liip/LiipHelloBundle For example [Stripe's API](http://amberonrails.com/building-stripes-api/) or previous GovHack entrant [WeatheredOak](http://www.govhack.org/2012/06/02/weatheredoak/)
- https://github.com/elc/rapi_doc https://github.com/Pajk/apipie-rails  
-  
  ## Infographics and Data Visualisation
   
   
# Infographics and Data Visualisation {#data-visualisation}  
   
Infographics try to contextualise charts and graphs to tell a story. Data vis builds on this to find new ways to design insight. Infographics try to contextualise charts and graphs to tell a story. Data vis builds on this to find new ways to design insight.
   
Most of the categories to follow have visualisation tools specific to their purpose. Most of the categories to follow have visualisation tools specific to their purpose.
   
You can find some data visualisation &#8220;essential&#8221\. tools below: You can find some data visualisation tools below:
   
[http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2011/07/part-6-the-essential-collection-of-visualisation-resources/](http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2011/07/part-6-the-essential-collection-of-visualisation-resources/) [Essential Colletion](http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2011/07/part-6-the-essential-collection-of-visualisation-resources/)
  [Drawing By Numbers Tools and Resources](http://drawingbynumbers.org/toolsandresources)
  - http://selection.datavisualization.ch/ data viz tools catalog
Also check out [http://thejit.org](http://thejit.org/) &amp; [http://www.senchalabs.org/<wbr>philogl/</wbr>](http://www.senchalabs.org/philogl/) (contributed by Matt Adcock) Also check out [http://thejit.org](http://thejit.org/) &amp; [http://www.senchalabs.org/<wbr>philogl/</wbr>](http://www.senchalabs.org/philogl/) (contributed by Matt Adcock)
   
# Mobile A good infographic should use visual art concepts and [good color schemes](http://www.r-bloggers.com/the-paul-tol-21-color-salute/). See the [data visualisation guidelines from the international journalism festival](http://schoolofdata.org/2013/04/26/data-visualization-guidelines-by-gregor-aisch-international-journalism-festival/)
html5 jquery mobile like directory.gov.au For more information on the theory of data visualisation check out the [Stanford CS448B notes](https://graphics.stanford.edu/wikis/cs448b-12-fall/) or [The Ultimate Collection of Data Storytelling Resources](http://www.juiceanalytics.com/writing/the-ultimate-collection-of-data-storytelling-resources/)
- android datviz  
- http://code.google.com/p/afreechart/ http://code.google.com/p/snowdon/ http://code.google.com/p/chartdroid/ http://androidplot.com/ http://code.google.com/p/achartengine/ Some examples of data visualisation can be seen on [the Sunlight Foundation tumblr](http://sunfoundation.tumblr.com/) or at the GovHack alumn [The Open Budget](http://www/.theopenbudget.org)
   
   
  ## Web Applications
# Geographical Data Tools {#geographical-data-tools}  
  With the rise of HTML5 technologies it is easier than ever to make a web application for engaging use of data.
Check out the[ GeoRabble Boundary Mapper&#8217;s Cookbook](http://georabble.org/2012/05/31/the-boundary-mappers-cookbook/) to see how you can tie all these things together! It's easy to quickly make a good looking and accessible webpage if you use a CSS framework like Bootstrap or Zurb Foundation.
  There are a variety of bootstrap themes like [Flat-UI](http://designmodo.com/flat-free/)
   
  Check out the visualisation tools listed in the data sections for web application tools like these [CSS Dashboard gauges](http://www.larentis.eu/donuts/)
   
  ### Examples
   
   
  #### PlanningAlerts
   
  [![Planning Alerts Screenshot](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_2f0199ff1-300x221.png "Planning Alerts Screenshot")](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_2f0199ff1.png)Description: Planning Alerts takes data from local government development applications and sends alerts to users based on what applications are lodged in their area.
   
  Programming Language: Ruby
   
  Source Control: [Git](https://github.com/openaustralia/planningalerts-app)
   
  Issue Tracking: [Atlassian JIRA](http://tickets.openaustraliafoundation.org.au/browse/PA/)
   
  #### LobbyLens
   
  [![](img/129-Screenshot-LobbyClue_-_Chromium-300x180.png "LobbyLens screenshot")](img/129-Screenshot-LobbyClue_-_Chromium.png)
   
  Description: Displays connections between government contracts, business details, politician responsibilities, lobbyists, clients of lobbyists, political donors and the location of these entities.
   
  Programing Language: PHP
   
  Source Control: SVN (Subversion)
   
  Issue Tracking: A whiteboard
   
  #### bus.lambdacomplex.org
   
  [![](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_3789acae-300x253.jpg "Bus.lambda screenshot")](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_3789acae.jpg)
   
  Description: Online Canberra Bus Timetables and Trip Planner.
   
  Programing Language: PHP/Ruby
   
  Source Control: Git
   
  Issue Tracking: Github
   
  ## Mobile
   
  If you want to get stared quickly with mobile application development, it's worth considering cross platform frameworks like http://www.sencha.com/products/touch http://phonegap.com/ http://cordova.apache.org/
   
  For a simple mobile app, a web application with a framewrok like jQuery Mobile can work quite well (as used on directory.gov.au)
   
  For data visualisation, there are a variety of graph widgets http://code.google.com/p/afreechart/ http://code.google.com/p/snowdon/ http://code.google.com/p/chartdroid/ http://androidplot.com/ http://code.google.com/p/achartengine/
   
  You may wish to consider backend frameworks like http://helios.io/ or https://www.parse.com/
   
  ### Examples
   
  Bureau of Meteorology Water Storage App http://icelab.com.au/work/bureau-of-meteorology/
   
  NZ Gov budget http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/app
   
   
  # Geographical Data Tools
   
  Check out the [GeoRabble Boundary Mapper's Cookbook](http://georabble.org/2012/05/31/the-boundary-mappers-cookbook/) to see how you can tie all these things together!
   
   
  ## Key datasets
  There are a variety of base layers like AGRI aerial imagery of Australia http://agri.openstreetmap.org/ or WMS services like http://irs.gis-lab.info/ wms or http://www.gdal.org/frmt_wms_openstreetmap_tms.xml
   
  ASGS from ABS including suburbs/postcodes andrewharvey4.wordpress.com postgis/asgs tutorial
  You can also get KML layers for various statistical measures on the ABS TableBuilder tool.
   
  ## Wrangling
   
  ### Converting
  There are many spatial data formats and often the one your tool requires is not the one the dataset is provided in.
  You can convert spatial datasets online with http://converter.mygeodata.eu/vector or locally using GDAL (which better for >10 megabyte datasets)
   
  ### Geocoding
   
  See this [introduction to geocoding](http://schoolofdata.org/2013/02/19/geocoding-part-i-introduction-to-geocoding/)
   
  Google Maps APIs allow you to convert an address to map co-ordinates (geocoding) but you must display on a Google Map. The easiest way to do is with a Google Spreadsheet/Fusion Table http://schoolofdata.org/2013/02/19/geocoding-part-ii-geocoding-data-in-a-google-docs-spreadsheet/
   
  If you need geocoding for more than display (working out the distance between points etc) or you don't want to use Google Maps, Cloudmade offers free OpenStreetMap based geocoding http://developers.cloudmade.com/projects/show/geocoding-http-api
   
## Analysis ## Analysis
   
   
### PostGIS ### PostGIS
   
[![](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/postgisexample-300x130.jpg "postgisexample")](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/postgisexample.jpg)PostGIS is an extension for the PostgreSQL database server that allows you to store and manipulate geospatial data on a large scale. For example finding which points are in an area or what points are closest . It is also very useful for storing geospatial data because it can convert between all major formats including ESRI Shape files and Google Earth/Maps KML. [![](img/postgisexample-300x130.jpg "postgisexample")](img/postgisexample.jpg)PostGIS is an extension for the PostgreSQL database server that allows you to store and manipulate geospatial data on a large scale. For example finding which points are in an area or what points are closest . It is also very useful for storing geospatial data because it can convert between all major formats including ESRI Shape files and Google Earth/Maps KML.
   
### Quantum GIS ### Quantum GIS
   
[![](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_m50afbe88-300x160.jpg "QGIS Screenshot")](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_m50afbe88.jpg)QGIS is a graphical desktop application that allows viewing and editing of geospatial data. Some good base maps are available by adding the WMS layer/server [http://irs.gis-lab.info/](http://irs.gis-lab.info/) [![](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_m50afbe88-300x160.jpg "QGIS Screenshot")](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_m50afbe88.jpg)QGIS is a graphical desktop application that allows viewing and editing of geospatial data. Some good base maps are available by adding the WMS layer/server [http://irs.gis-lab.info/](http://irs.gis-lab.info/)
   
  See this [Creating a Map in QGIS tutorial](http://schoolofdata.org/2013/04/27/creating-a-map-using-qgis/)
   
## Visualisation ## Visualisation
   
### Layar and other augmented reality tools ### Layar and other augmented reality tools
  [Layar](http://www.layar.com/) provides a platform for exploring a dataset by travelling to the actual locations of the data and looking through a smartphone. Custom markers (2D or 3D) seem to float in the air and can be clicked on for more information. You can even trigger an event like playing music when within a certain range of a location.
   
### Google Fusion Tables/ChartsBin/[OpenHeatMap](http://www.openheatmap.com/) ### Google Fusion Tables/ChartsBin/[OpenHeatMap](http://www.openheatmap.com/)
   
[![](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/fusiontablesscreenshot-300x168.jpg "fusiontablesscreenshot")](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/fusiontablesscreenshot.jpg)Input a numerical values and areas to a spreadsheet and maps are produced [![](img/fusiontablesscreenshot-300x168.jpg "fusiontablesscreenshot")](img/fusiontablesscreenshot.jpg)Input numerical values and areas to a spreadsheet and maps are produced where the areas are colored on a scale of the values
   
  http://www.peteraldhous.com/CAR/Making_maps_with_Google_Fusion_Tables.pdf tutorial or http://support.google.com/fusiontables/topic/2592754?hl=en&ref_topic=27020 for google help files
   
### [Cartographer.js](http://cartographer.visualmotive.com/) ### [Cartographer.js](http://cartographer.visualmotive.com/)
   
[![](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/cartographerjs-300x187.png "cartographerjs screenshot")](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/cartographerjs.png)Input data as JSON and maps are produced.