ABSTRACT
Visualization is a form of communication. Figure 2.1 shows a typical depiction of a general communication system considered by Shannon and Weaver as an abstract representation [106]. The source and destination of the message can be a person or a machine. The encoder (also referred to as transmitter) and decoder (also referred to as receiver) transform messages into signals and vice versa. Conceptually, the term “signal” is a generalization encapsulating messages represented by both digital and analog signals. In modern communication systems, we can simply consider both messages and signals as “data.” Traditionally, the term “channel” refers to a transmission medium. In abstract, it is a function or process that operates on an input signal and sometimes adds noise, resulting in an output signal.
