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An Introduction to the Graph eZ Component
An Introduction to the Graph eZ
Component
Description
Among the additions to the latest eZ Components 2006.2 release is the Graph component,
which enables you to create bar, line and pie charts. The output driver mechanism allows you to
create different image file types from each chart, and the available renderers make the chart
output customizable from simple two-dimensional charts to beautiful three-dimensional data
projections.
The different parts of a graph are separated into independently configurable chart elements,
such as the title, the legend, or an axis. This not only allows you to use different colors or fonts
for each chart element, but to also define their positions and sizes. The main chart elements are
the same for all chart types. Default, overall graph layouts can be defined by palettes, which
specify element colors, symbols, fonts and spacings.
Chart data is held in ezcGraphDataSets, which typically takes the form of simple arrays. As you
will see, statistical operations can be performed on the data.
A more in-depth tutorial is available, and is referenced throughout this article. API
documentation is also available.
Chart types
The Graph component supports three chart types: bar , line and pie charts .
Bar charts
At the very least, after calling the Graph component and an existing dataset, the code to create
a bar chart consists of only three lines.
First, you must create the chart object, which also defines the type of chart. Referencing the
existing dataset, you then assign an array with key-value pairs containing the data. Finally, you
render the chart, specifying its size, to a file.
