Yes, if all you wanted was a simple chart I wouldn't take the time to learn D3 unless I was motivated to learn it for other reasons. There are simpler solutions for simple charts.
I have used D3 for complicated visualizations, for example an orthographic view of stacked floor plans, you click on a floor and it slides out, zooms and re-orients itself and displays the time- and location-based data in different colored areas around the floor.
Complicated things like that is where D3 shines I think.
Exactly! I should probably have a section (or at least a link to a resource) that talks about _why_ you would want to learn this.
I have an image in the book detailing the spectrum of data viz tools on the web. At one end are the quick-pickup tools that aren't customizeable, and at the other end you have.. d3. Which isn't really a framework so much as a collection of tools that can help with making web charts.
What I probably failed to communicate in this post is that there are tons of opportunities to help communicate data with the web. Tooltips are just the most common interaction, but you could easily envision using scroll as a trigger, or adding a way to "zoom in" on parts of a chart.
The learning curve is definitely steeper, but once you have the skills, the world is really your oyster for visualizing data online. The pudding (https://pudding.cool/) is a great showcase of possibilities, or even uncommon chart types like at https://wattenberger.com/fishing
I have used D3 for complicated visualizations, for example an orthographic view of stacked floor plans, you click on a floor and it slides out, zooms and re-orients itself and displays the time- and location-based data in different colored areas around the floor.
Complicated things like that is where D3 shines I think.