$arr_19 ), array( 3, false, $arr_20, $arr_24 ), array( 2, false, "\" />", $arr_25 ) ) ); ?> $arr_27 ), array( 3, false, $arr_28, $arr_30 ), array( 2, false, "\" />\n\n", $arr_31 ) ) ); ?> array( 2, false, false, $arr_9 ), array( 4, $arr_10, "if", $arr_245, $arr_248 ), array( 2, false, "\n", $arr_249 ) ) ); ?> rr_466 ), array( 4, $arr_467, "if", $arr_482, $arr_484 ), array( 2, false, "\n", $arr_485 ) ) ); ?> Web Grapher » Linux Magazine
 

Eye-catching graphics with the Google Charts API

Web Grapher

© auris, Fotolia, Fotolia

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The Google Chart API lets you draw custom graphs, charts, maps, and barcodes through a simple web interface.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a chart must be something akin to a novella. With just a glance, a chart can convey the state of the stock market, a trend in website traffic, the distribution of voters by county, and how monies are allocated in a household budget. Additionally, a chart is simply more memorable than a large table full of numbers.

Oddly, though, very few websites use charts to great advantage, largely because creating a chart requires unique programming and specialized, server-side software to render data. For example, if your site is based on PHP, you must install pChart [1] (or an analog), add the GD graphics library, and write code to produce a graphic of any kind. Ideally, any contributor – an editor, a writer, or a user adding comments – should be able to create and embed a chart.

Indeed, dynamism, simplicity, and convenience are at the heart of the Google Chart application programming interface (API) [2], perhaps more accurately described as software as a service (SaaS). Simply craft a parameterized URL in the form http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?parameter1&parameter2&parameterN and let Google Chart do all the heavy lifting. Google Chart lets you render six kinds of charts, a Google-o-meter, a QR code (a kind of barcode), and maps, and you can specify a googol of customizations, such as bar color, background color, legend, and more.

[...]

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