Recursive Pattern: A Technique for Visualizing Very Large Amounts of Data

An important goal of visualization technology is to support the exploration and analysis of very large amounts of data. This paper proposes a new visualization technique called 'recursive pattern' which has been developed for visualizing large amounts of multidimensional data. The technique is based on a generic recursive scheme which generalizes a wide range of pixel-oriented arrangements for displaying large data sets. By instantiating the technique with adequate data- and application-dependent parameters, the user may largely influence the structure of the resulting visualizations. Since the technique uses one pixel for presenting each data value, the amount of data which can be displayed is only limited by the resolution of current display technology and by the limitations of human perceptibility.