One of the project requirements for my new java web project is to have dynamic charts that will load really fast. While in discussion , it was asked if we could implement charts without using images ie without loading jpg, png files etc. Also files like pdf cannot be used. Basically my question is Can charts be implemented in jsp/javascript without using images,pdf etc ? ie even api's used should not provide end result as image,or pdf etc. I did not say no right away , as I have implemented charts in console applications in C on screen. Can we do something like that on a webpage ? ie show a graph by drawing on screen dots,lines,circles etc.But it should be possible inside a div ? PS : Comments and answer from Lucien Stals helped to understand that the technology i was looking for was svg. I am looking for some nudging in the right direction from some of the experienced java , javascript programmers in SO.

javascriptjavachartsjasper-reportsjfreechart

Reputation: 1965

Creating charts in java or javascript without images

One of the project requirements for my new java web project is to have dynamic charts that will load really fast.

While in discussion , it was asked if we could implement charts without using images ie without loading jpg, png files etc. Also files like pdf cannot be used.

Basically my question is

Can charts be implemented in jsp/javascript without using images,pdf etc ? ie even api's used should not provide end result as image,or pdf etc.
I did not say no right away , as I have implemented charts in console applications in C on screen. Can we do something like that on a webpage ? ie show a graph by drawing on screen dots,lines,circles etc.But it should be possible inside a div ?

PS : Comments and answer from Lucien Stals helped to understand that the technology i was looking for was svg.

I am looking for some nudging in the right direction from some of the experienced java , javascript programmers in SO.

Upvotes: 1

Answers (5)

Lucien Stals

Reputation: 237

A simple bar chart would be easy enough to create with DIVs and CSS. Anything more complicated and I think you are talking SVG, which could be drawn using http://raphaeljs.com/, or maybe http://d3js.org/ . Also look at the HTML5 canvas element.

Upvotes: 1

Merrily

Reputation: 1686

Many JavaScript chart libraries exist that render in HTML5 on your page. You can probably find one that meets other requirements or wishes of your team, since each have feature areas in which they excel. http://www.zingchart.com has also been adding many ways to include them in your charts if you decide to go with something other than vanilla JavaScript (jQuery, Angular, etc). Full disclosure: I'm on the ZingChart team. I can help you weigh the pro's and con's if you find a few that catch your interest.

Upvotes: 4