Sparkline Widget Example

Demonstrates high-density data visualization in a condensed footprint.

Users need context. A single number (“90% CPU”) tells you status, but not the trend. Full charts take up too much space. Sparklines condense history into a single line, perfect for headers and dashboards.

Features Demonstrated

• High Density: Showing dozens of data points in a small area.

• Direction: Rendering Left-to-Right (standard) or Right-to-Left (like a scrolling ticker).

• Gaps: Handling nil values with “absent symbols” to indicate missing data.

• Styling: Using colors and custom characters to indicate severity or type.

Hotkeys

• Up/Down (↑/↓): Cycle Data Set (data)

• d: Cycle Direction (direction)

• c: Cycle Color (style)

• m: Cycle Absent Value Marker Symbol (absent_value_symbol)

• s: Cycle Absent Value Marker Style (absent_value_style)

• b: Cycle Bar Character Set (bar_set)

• q: Quit

Usage

ruby examples/widget_sparkline/app.rb

Learning Outcomes

Use this example if you need to…

• Add a “CPU Load” graph to your header.

• Visualize stock price trends in a list row.

• Monitor memory usage over the last 60 seconds.

Read the source code →