Talk:Diagram

The next talk item started by Wikicommons Category talk:Diagrams. It is copied here and restructured by Marcel Douwe Dekker

Here below are the definitions of diagram from major dictionaries. Note that some definitions include charts and graphs, and some don't.

• Dictionary.com Unabridged

1. a figure, usually consisting of a line drawing, made to accompany and illustrate a geometrical theorem, mathematical demonstration, etc.
2. a drawing or plan that outlines and explains the parts, operation, etc., of something: a diagram of an engine.
3. a chart, plan, or scheme.

• The American Heritage

1. A plan, sketch, drawing, or outline designed to demonstrate or explain how something works or to clarify the relationship between the parts of a whole.
2. Mathematics. A graphic representation of an algebraic or geometric relationship.
3. A chart or graph.

• Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (Geom.) A figure or drawing made to illustrate a statement, or facilitate a demonstration; a plan.
2. Any simple drawing made for mathematical or scientific purposes, or to assist a verbal explanation which refers to it; a mechanical drawing, as distinguished from an artistical one.

• Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

1. a graphic design that explains rather than represents; especially : a drawing that shows arrangement and relations (as of parts)
2. a line drawing made for mathematical or scientific purposes

Now there is also a definition in Wiktionary, which seems to merge the first four give definitions. Wikitionary states on diagram:

1. A plan, drawing, sketch or outline to show how something works, or show the relationships between the parts of a whole; electrical diagrams show device interconnections [see schematics].
2. {{mathematics}} a graphic representation of an algebraic or geometric relationship
3. A graph or chart

In the article itselve a defintion is given based on Lee. E. Brasseur (2003). This states, that the term "Diagram" in common sense has two meanings:^[1]

1. A collective term for any visual information device, like the term "illustration" often used as a representative term, to stand for the whole class of technical genres, including graphs and tables.
2. The specific class of visual display, that show qualitative data with shapes that are connected by lines, arrows, or other visual links.

Now it is interesting to make a comparison. I think it is quiet simple here.

• The "Wiktionary definition" and "Wikipedia description here" are just complementary.
• The four dictionary - and the Wiktionary - definitions give a registration of the most general different (two or) three meanings.
• And the Wikipedia definition gives a more general reflection on the types of use of the term in real life: it gives an overview of the broad and the specific definition of the term diagram.

-- Marcel Douwe Dekker (talk) 18:59, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Hi all. I think it'd be useful to move the list of types of diagram out into a separate page (or pages). There's already List of graphical methods, which covers Graph-based and Chart-like diagrams, but not everything else. There are also physical-based diagrams, such as the exploded view, maps, tectonic plate cross-sections, and the like (there's a book called something like "Advanced Geography by Diagram").

HTH, -- TimNelson (talk) 06:11, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

This article has been a list for quite some time, since 2004/05 and became a short introduction. Three months ago I started a process to turn this into a normal article, but got stuck in the process. Now I intent to loose the list here one way or an other. I don't know if a separate list will hold. There are a group of editors against this type of lists. You could ask the WP:LIST Wikiproject. -- Marcel Douwe Dekker (talk) 11:48, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

P.S. I did take the list in WikiCommons and started transforming it into a gallery, see here, but the same story there. I did update in Wikipedia the article chart article and started some general articles such as mathematical diagram, network diagram, cluster diagram and Plot (graphics). Now I can really think of anything a separate list of diagram would solve here. I think this article needs more work, and some more specific general diagram articles would help to get a better understanding of the whole matter.

Hi again. I just realized I allready created such a list, see User:Mdd/List of diagrams. I just didn't yet implemented it. -- Marcel Douwe Dekker (talk) 16:56, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

Due to possible violation of copyright, see WP:Copyvio, I have removed one or more section of this article for now.

I apologize for all inconvenience I have caused here, see also here. If you would like to assist in improving this article, please let me know. I can use all the help I can get. Thank you.

-- Marcel Douwe Dekker (talk) 14:56, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

The edits which caused the copyvio have been made by me in two sessions:

• Between July 19 and July 20, 2008, see here.
• between July 24 and July 28, 2008, see here

-- Marcel Douwe Dekker (talk) 17:11, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

I don't see what's wrong with those edits. They are short quotes or paraphrases and the sources are extensively referenced. If this is not the way to write Wikipedia articles, I don't know what is. Rp (talk) 21:00, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

I will try to make a similar analysis as I did at Talk:Flowchart. -- Marcel Douwe Dekker (talk) 02:19, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

I have to check with the original source, which is in my studio. Using Google-books seems not enough here. I will get back here. -- Marcel Douwe Dekker (talk) 15:02, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

This might take a little longer. I apologize. -- Marcel Douwe Dekker (talk) 23:39, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

Interesting quotes about diagrams:

• "A diagram, indeed, so far as it has a general signification, is not a pure icon; but in the middle part of our reasonings we forget that abstractness in great measure, and the diagram is for us the very thing."
  • Source: (1885) C.S. Pierce (1885) On The Algebra of Logic, (source: Wikiquote)

• "Diagrams are abstract graphic portrayals of the subject matter they represent".
  • Source: Lowe, Richard K. (1993). "Diagrammatic information: techniques for exploring its mental representation and processing". In; Information Design Journal 7 (1): 3–18. p.7.

• "Graphs and diagrams can be classified into two broad categories depending on whether their application or use is for technical of for popular appeal."
  • Source: Frederick E. Giesecke (1993) Engineering Graphics. Prentice Hall. p.835

• "Diagrams are schematic pictures of objects or events that rely on conventionally defined symbols".
  • Source: S.F. Kosslyn (1994). Elements of graphic design. New York : W.H.Freeman. p.238

• "Diagrams are usually simplified figures, caricatures in a way, intended to convey essential meaning".
  • Source: Bert S. Hall (1996). "The Didactic and the Elegant: Some Thoughts on Scientific and Technological Illustrations in the Middle Ages and and Renaissance". in: B. Braigie (ed.) Picturing knowledge: historical and philosophical problems concerning the use of art in science. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p.9

• "A diagram is a picture, in which one is intended to perform inference about the thing pictured, by mentally following around the parts of the diagram."
  • Source: James Franklin (1999) "Diagrammatic reasoning and modelling in the imagination: the secret weapons of the Scientific Revolution". In: 1543 and All That: Image and Word, Change and Continuity in the Proto-Scientific Revolution, ed. G. Freeland & A. Corones (Dordrecht, 1999), pp. 53-115. (section: Image and diagram) p.3.

-- Mdd (talk) 14:18, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

I think category of Chart-like diagrams and Graph-based diagrams are not exact. Why don't we define Chart and Graph first for categorize? I think we should use https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graph_(discrete_mathematics) or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graph_(abstract_data_type) for definition of the Graph. Or If it's hard to categorize, let's just merge Chart-like diagrams and Graph-based diagrams. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Potato friend (talk • contribs) 03:09, 6 July 2020 (UTC)

Rather than repeat everything here, please see the discussion here:

• Commons:Categories for discussion/2019/09/Category:Diagrams by subject

--Timeshifter (talk) 23:00, 4 August 2020 (UTC)

Agree with what you said. A simple description for the sake of explaining it here is Diagrams are simplified illustrations that explain ideas, structures, and processes. They also show how parts work together and how things relate.. Also a simple plan that represents a machine, system, or idea, etc., often drawn to explain how it works . Charts on the other hand plot data such as line graphs, pie charts, etc. Prototyperspective (talk) 18:17, 10 December 2025 (UTC)