Handsontable vs Highcharts: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this markdown, we will discuss the key differences between Handsontable and Highcharts, which are two popular tools used for data visualization in websites.

1. Data Manipulation vs. Data Visualization: The primary difference between Handsontable and Highcharts lies in their main functionality. Handsontable is primarily focused on providing a spreadsheet-like interface where users can manipulate and edit data in a tabular format. On the other hand, Highcharts is designed specifically for data visualization and offers a wide range of interactive charts and graphs to present data in a visually appealing manner.

2. Usage and Integration: Handsontable is typically used in scenarios where users need to perform data entry, manipulation, and analysis within a web page. It can be integrated seamlessly into web applications using JavaScript and provides extensive options and APIs for customization. Highcharts, on the other hand, is used when the main requirement is to display data visually in the form of charts, graphs, or maps. It can be integrated into web pages using JavaScript and offers a variety of chart types and customization options.

3. Types of Visualizations: Handsontable provides limited options for data visualization, primarily focused on grid-based structures like tables. It offers functionalities such as filtering, sorting, and calculating formulas within the table. Highcharts, on the other hand, offers a wide range of chart types including line charts, bar charts, pie charts, scatter plots, maps, and more. It provides extensive customization options to tailor the visualizations according to specific requirements.

4. Customization and Styling: Handsontable allows customization options for the appearance and behavior of the tabular data grid. Users can define custom cell renderers, apply conditional formatting, and modify the styles to match the website's theme. Highcharts, on the other hand, provides a robust API for customizing various aspects of charts, including colors, fonts, labels, and animation effects. It offers comprehensive configuration options to achieve a desired visual presentation.

5. User Interaction: Handsontable enables users to interact directly with the data by editing cells, adding formulas, and performing various operations within the grid. It supports features like copy-paste, drag and drop, undo-redo, and context menu options. Highcharts, on the other hand, emphasizes interactive data visualization, allowing users to interact with the charts by hovering over data points, zooming in and out, drill-down functionality, exporting charts, and more.

6. Data Integration and Sources: Handsontable is well-suited for handling data from various sources, including local data arrays, JSON data, and server-side data through AJAX requests. It provides built-in functionality for data binding and synchronization with data sources. Highcharts also supports data from a variety of sources, such as local data arrays and JSON, but it places more emphasis on providing visualization options for the given dataset rather than direct data manipulation.

In summary, while both Handsontable and Highcharts offer data visualization capabilities, Handsontable is primarily focused on data manipulation within a tabular grid structure, whereas Highcharts specializes in providing a wide range of interactive charts and graphs for visualizing data.