Eye-catching graphics with the Google Charts API
Chart Your Heart Out
The Google Chart API is simple to use and easy to integrate into web applications. As shown here, you can use the API immediately – just embed a static link in your web page and let the browser request and render a chart each time the page is drawn.
To speed page rendering, you can request and cache the chart image on your own server, recreating the chart only when the underlying data changes. In addition to providing better efficiency, this technique better protects your raw data. A visitor to your site cannot "View Source" and copy the URL.
Of course, you can also mix the Google Chart API with AJAX techniques to modify charts on the fly in response to user input. Chart Maker [6] is a basic but effective demonstration of dynamic charting; others have used the Google Chart API to implement a loan calculator and executive dashboards.
Of course, Google Chart is often slower than charting tools that run on the desktop, such as Apple Numbers or Microsoft Excel. These latter applications use native drawing engines and do not require an Internet round-trip to transmit data and download a large graphic image. However, Google Chart is a free application that is available from anywhere. If you are serious about using Google Chart in a production setting, pre-flighting and caching can greatly improve response time.
Infos
- The pChart graphing framework for PHP: http://pchart.sourceforge.net/
- The Google Charts API documentation: http://code.google.com/apis/chart/
- BeeTagg: http://www.beetagg.com/
- Google's free Zebra Crossing barcode reader library: http://code.google.com/p/zxing/
- A guide to encoding data in QR codes: http://code.google.com/p/zxing/wiki/BarcodeContents
- A simple Google Chart generator: http://almaer.com/chartmaker/
- The JFreeChart charting library: http://www.jfree.org/jfreechart/
« Previous 1 2
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
News
-
KaOS 2022.06 Now Available With KDE Plasma 5.25
The newest iteration of KaOS Linux not only adds the latest KDE Plasma desktop but sets LibreOffice as the default.
-
Manjaro 21.3.0 Is Now Available
Manjaro “Ruah” has been released and includes the latest Calamares installer, GNOME 42, and much more.
-
SpiralLinux is a New Linux Distribution Focused on Simplicity
A new Linux distribution, from the creator of GeckoLinux, is a Debian-based operating system with a focus on simplicity and ease of use.
-
HP Dev One Linux Laptop is Now Available for Pre-Order
The System76/HP collaboration Dev One laptop, geared toward developers, is now available for pre-order.
-
NixOS 22.5 Is Now Available
The latest release of NixOS with a much-improved package manager and a user-friendly graphical installer.
-
System76 Teams up with HP to Create the Dev One Laptop
HP and System76 have come together to develop a new laptop, powered by Pop!_OS and aimed toward developers.
-
Titan Linux is a New KDE Linux Based on Debian Stable
Titan Linux is a new Debian-based Linux distribution that features the KDE Plasma desktop with a focus on usability and performance.
-
Danielle Foré Has an Update for elementary OS 7
Now that Ubuntu 22.04 has been released, the team behind elementary OS is preparing for the upcoming 7.0 release.
-
Linux New Media Launches Open Source JobHub
New job website focuses on connecting technical and non-technical professionals with organizations in open source.
-
Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 Now Available
Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 has been released with all the additions from upstream as well as other features and improvements.