Graphs

Fathom also lets you view data graphically. The graph object supports various kinds of charts and plots (see Graphs Available in Fathom). You tell Fathom what to graph by dragging attribute names to an axis of the graph (see Beginner Graphing). You specify the graph type by choosing from a menu in the corner of the graph object.

The configuration of attributes determines what kinds of graphs are available. For example, if you put age on an axis and leave the other axis blank, you can get a box plot or a histogram—because age is a numeric attribute. But if you put sex on that same axis, you can’t get a histogram—because sex is categorical. You get a bar chart instead.

You can also add things such as functions to graphs (see Add Lines and Functions to Graphs). Functions can be anything you can express with a formula (see Fathom Operators, Functions, and Units) as well as the more familiar lines, such as least-squares linear regression lines or median-median lines.

It is frequently possible to place more than one attribute on an axis (Add Another Attribute to an Already Occupied Axis), and an attribute dropped in the middle of a graph usually produces a legend and changes the color or shape of the plotted points.

In graphs of numeric attributes, you can change the data by dragging (unless the data are locked). For example, you can drag points in a scatter plot to see how the dragging affects a least-squares line. (see Drag Data in a Graph and Prevent Data from Being Changed in Graphs.)