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Would anyone recommend a particular JavaScript charting library - specifically one that doesn't use flash at all?
There is a growing number of Open Source and commercial solutions for pure JavaScript charting that do not require Flash. In this response I will only present Open Source options.
There are 2 main classes of JavaScript solutions for graphics that do not require Flash:
Canvas-based, rendered in IE using ExplorerCanvas that in turns relies on VML
SVG on standard-based browsers, rendered as VML in IE
There are pros and cons of both approaches but for a charting library I would recommend the later because it is well integrated with DOM, allowing to manipulate charts elements with the DOM, and most importantly setting DOM events. By contrast Canvas charting libraries must reinvent the DOM wheel to manage events. So unless you intend to build static graphs with no event handling, SVG/VML solutions should be better.
For SVG/VML solutions there are many options, including:
Dojox Charting, good if you use the Dojo toolkit already
Raphael-based solutions
Raphael is a very active, well maintained, and mature, open-source graphic library with very good cross-browser support including IE 6 to 8, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome, and Konqueror. Raphael does not depend on any JavaScript framework and therefore can be used with Prototype, jQuery, Dojo, Mootools, etc...
There are a number of charting libraries based on Raphael, including (but not limited to):
gRaphael, an extension of the Raphael graphic library
Ico, with an intuitive API based on a single function call to create complex charts
Disclosure: I am the developer of one of the Ico forks on github.
If you're using jQuery I've found flot to be very good - try out the examples to see if they suit your needs, but I've found them to do most of what I need for my current project.
Additionally ExtJS 4.0 has introduced a great set of charts - very powerful, and is designed to work with live data.
Check out http://www.highcharts.com !
Highcharts is a charting library written in pure JavaScript, offering an easy way of adding interactive charts to your web site or web application. Highcharts currently supports line, spline, area, areaspline, column, bar, pie and scatter chart types.
It maybe not exactly what you are looking for, but
Google's Chart API is pretty cool and easy to use.
There is another javascript library based on SVG. It is called Protovis and it comes from Stanford Visualization Group
It also allows making nice interactive graphics and visualizations.
http://vis.stanford.edu/protovis/ex/
Although it is only for modern web browsers
UPDATE: The protovis team has moved to another library called d3.js (Data Driven Documents) as they said:
"The Protovis team is now developing a new visualization library, D3.js, with improved support for animation and interaction. D3 builds on many of the concepts in Protovis"
The new library can now be found in:
http://mbostock.github.com/d3/
UPDATE 2:
"Rickshaw" is a JavaScript toolkit for creating interactive time series graphs. Based on d3.js that simplifies a lot the work with d3.js although is a little bit less powerful.
http://code.shutterstock.com/rickshaw/
I was recently looking for a javascript charting library and I evaluated a whole bunch before finally settling on jqplot which fit my requirements very well. As Jean Vincent's answer mentioned you are really choosing between canvas based and svg based solution.
To my mind the major pros and cons were as follows. The SVG based solutions like Raphael (and offshoots) are great if you want to construct highly dynamic/interactive charts. Or if you charting requirements are very much outside the norm (e.g. you want to create some sort of hybrid chart or you've come up with a new visualization that no-one else has thought of yet). The downside is the learning curve and the amount of code you will have to write. You won't be banging out charts in a few minutes, be prepared to invest some real learning time and then to write a goodly amount of code to produce a relatively simple chart.
If your charting requirements are reasonably standard, e.g. you want some line or bar graphs or perhaps a pie chart or two, with limited interactivity, then it is worth looking at canvas based solutions. There will be hardly any learning curve, you'll be able to get basic charts going within a few minutes, you won't need to write a lot of code, a few lines of basic javascript/jquery will be all you need. Of course you will only be able to produce the specific types of charts that the library supports, usually limited to various flavors of line, bar, pie. The interactivity choices will be extremely limited, that is to say non-existent for many of the libraries out there, although some limited hover effects are possible with the better ones.
I went with JQplot which is a canvas based solution since I only really needed some standard types of charts. From my research and playing around with the various choices I found it to be reasonably full-featured (if you're only after the standard charts) and extremely easy to use, so I would recommend it if your requirements are similar.
To summarize, simple and want charts now, then go with JQplot. Complex/different and not pressed for time then go with Raphael and friends.
jqPlot is great. If your requirements are fairly "normal" and you just want to draw some charts, you're probably overwhelmed by the quantity of js charting options. Assuming you don't want to do hours of research, just go with jqPlot as it's probably your best bet. It covers most use cases for most people well. Some of the alternatives are specialised on a certain type of chart or built with a certain use case in mind.
As some kind of late answer, try d3.js
http://mbostock.github.com/d3/
It's the continuation of protovis.
The big difference to flot is in the number of features supported.
Though flot may be simpler, d3.js is definitely more powerful.
Flotr is another, pure Javascript chart-library based on Prototype and inspired by Flot
Try PlotKit
I'd recommend gRaphaël for pure JavaScript charting along with the pure JavaScript vector graphics library it's built on (Raphaël).
gRaphaël currently supports Firefox 3.0+, Safari 3.0+, Opera 9.5+ and Internet Explorer 6.0+.
a framework: http://www.simile-widgets.org/
a basic: http://www.filamentgroup.com/examples/charting_v2/index_2.php
good looking: http://www.highcharts.com/
Another is RGraph: Javascript charts and graph library:
http://www.rgraph.net
Canvas based so it's fast and there's roughly 20 different chart types. It's free for non-commercial use too!
My favourite (flot) has already been mentioned.
But be sure to investigate Ortho.
It is excellent for tree charts and timelines.
There is a lot of activity in the dojo charting library, and what is great I am using it inside an AIR application without problems too, pretty cool!
See for example there http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2008/05/27/dojo-charting-event-support-has-landed/
Check out Google Visualization API, which is kind of a generalization of the simpler Chart API
http://code.google.com/apis/visualization/documentation/gallery.html
Has very cool interactive options including maps, gauges, and charts.
We just bought a license of TechOctave Charts Suite for our new startup. I highly recommend them. Licensing is simple. Charts look great! It was easy to get started and has a powerful API for when we need it. I was shocked by how clean and extensible the code is. Really happy with our choice.
Try the MIT simile timeline which could be made into a chart - http://simile.mit.edu/timeline/
or the final one, http://code.google.com/p/gchart/
Not a Javascript library but it may be a suitable alternative - check out Google Charts where you can generate charts by passing querystring data to their web service.
Take a look at Bluff. It's a JavaScript port of the Gruff graphing library for Ruby.
Protochart is all you need
Sencha acquired Raphael and now their charts are pure javascript as of version 4. Emprise and HighCharts mentioned above are my two favorites.
http://www.sencha.com/
For the more unusual charts: http://thejit.org/
I can recommend ArcadiaCharts. A brand-new professional charting library for JavaScript and GWT. Runs in all browsers without plugins. Easy and fast to use: creates great looking charts with just a few lines of code.
Free for non-commercial use.
Fusion charts has a new javascript/jquery library that looks promising.
In case what you need is bar chart only. I published some code I've been using in an old project. Someone told me the VML implementation is broken on recent versions of IE, but the SVG should work just fine. Might be getting back to the project and release some serverside renderers I already have and maybe WebGL rendering layer. There's a link: http://blog.conquex.com/?p=64
Probably not what the OP is looking for, but since this question has become a list of JS charting library options: jQuery Sparklines is really cool.
Check out ZingChart HTML5 Canvas, SVG, VML and Flash Charts. Very powerful and compatible library. I'm on the Zing team - mention us on twitter #zingchart or shoot any questions to support#zingchart.com.
Here's a link to their demo. Basically, it's an online tool that implements a lot of the visio functionality.
I'm building an app that would require similar type of user interaction, dropping, moving, editing, resizing objects, interacting with grids and guides, etc.
Since the project is for my own learning purposes, I was wondering what are some of the things I should focus on or learn to be able to develop such high quality interfaces
Cheers
There's draw.io, a very similar tool, but with the source on github.
To build such a rich user interface is a big task.
Which is why there are lots of frameworks and libraries which have already developed rich user interface stuff such as:
Sproutcore
Cappuccino
ExtJS
Dojo
jQuery UI
Sproutcore and Cappuccino are for developing desktop style applications for the web and include very good user interface components. As well as maintaing application states and data models. ExtJS has a lot of these features and a very nice UI toolkit, as does Dojo.
Lucidchart I notice uses the Canvas drawing API as well so thats something you would need to look into for shape manipulation and creating flexible connections. Mozilla Developer Center has some good stuff on the canvas API.
I would start off by taking a look at the Raphael library.
It allows you to write pretty simple Javascript code to draw graphic elements in the browser, including pretty straightforward animations and draggable/clickable interfaces.
In all honesty, it's not going to be quick and easy to write something as complex as the site you linked to, but Raphael is the quickest way to get started with the basics.
And best of all, Raphael is even compatible with older versions of IE, so you don't have to worry about only being able to support the latest browsers (though of course you may want to do other stuff that does need other new features).
Hope that helps.
I'd like to build a proof-of-concept web-based database manager (such as the desktop version in the screenshot below) that has the following features.
The schema will be provided initially through a flat file.
It seems like HTML5 might be an option. What about non-HTML? What about processing.js? Are there any libraries I could/should take advantage? Is there already a service I can tap into?
Any opinions or advice would be appreciated!
Edit
Primary goal of the project is the build a protoype of the UI.
For the events that you will need to control everything, I would suggest using jQuery. It can cut you javascript in half. Canvas/SVG would be easy enough to use to create the diagram above (could even pull it off in straight html using some creative css and a judicious application of div's). I've never used flash but I also don't see anything in your image here that couldn't be done in Canvas/SVG. If you do go with Canvas you will want to look into using a lib called ex_canvas which will make it all work fairly nicely on IE (my company has some canvas items that work in IE6 using ex_canvas). Also you will want to look at css-sprites (in case you haven't heard of them before) as they can aid in the load performance of your page.
I've decided to use http://raphaeljs.com for the project. This SVG library supports older browsers and given this application is highly interactive with the user, it makes sense for me in this project to use SVG over Canvas.
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I'm looking for javascript libraries that helps with HTML5 development.
Please only post one library per answer, and don't forget to describe it.
Modernizr is the best way to detect which HTML5 features a browser supports.
"Processing.js is an open programming language for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions for the web without using Flash or Java applets. Processing.js uses Javascript to draw shapes and manipulate images on the HTML5 Canvas element. The code is light-weight, simple to learn and makes an ideal tool for visualizing data, creating user-interfaces and developing web-based games."
Raphaël — Raphaël’s goal is to provide an adapter that will make drawing vector art compatible cross-browser and easy.
I'll post about Easel.js and it's sibils hoho. They're from the same developer GSkinner I post all related libraries because of this. I've just used Easel a little, but the others seem promising. I post the URL and their description:
Easel.js
The new Canvas element in HTML5 is powerful, but it can be difficult to work with. It has no internal concept of discrete display elements, so you are required to manage updates manually. The Easel Javascript library provides a retained graphics mode for canvas including a full, hierarchical display list, a core interaction model, and helper classes to make working with Canvas much easier.
It supports TweenJS
TweenJS provides an extremely simple API for creating complex sequenced animations in Javascript. It includes basic (experimental) support for working with style sheets.
Also supports SoundJS
Audio in HTML is promising, but can be quite difficult to work with. Each browser has a similar but different approach, which requires a lot of guess and test, and edge cases, which can add up to a lot of time spent. The SoundJS JavaScript library provides a simple API, and some powerful features to make working with audio a breeze.
And Zoë
Zoë (from Zoetrope) is an open source application for OSX or Windows which provides an easy way to export Flash animations as sprite sheets for use with EaselJS and HTML5.
Simply drag a SWF file onto the application. It will scan the main timeline to find frame labels and dimensions. You can tweak the frame bounds, edit settings, then export a sprite sheet image and EaselJS code defining a SpriteSheet instance with frame data based on the timeline labels.
SWFs should have all animation on the main timeline, with frame labels to indicate the start of animations. Nested graphics are fine.
I haven't used them all but seem quite interesting =)
html5sql is a light JavaScript module that makes working with the HTML5 Web Database a whole lot easier. Its primary function is to provides a structure for the sequential processing of SQL statements within a single transaction.
The only one I have found is html5widgets.
I would have assumed that there where several competing libraries for this.
But it does implement most of the new html 5 form goodness, which is what I care about...
Check out RGraph.
Available at http://www.rgraph.net/
Complete set of graphs for html5.
Free for non-commercial use, else it is 49 Pounds (English)
I use Perkins HTML5+CSS3 framework "He" describes himself as following:
I am a Framework thought to make the life of designers and developers a bit easier. I use the latest Web standards, also known as HTML5 and CSS3. To take more advantage and allow you not to repeat yourself, I am based in LESS.js, which means that you can forget some of the proprietary browser prefixes. Also, I carry a number of preloaded basic styles, mixins, helpers, transparent textures and a #font-face driven icon set. If HTML is your passion, I can help you to make wireframes quickly using the dynamic grid, based in Tyler Tate's 1kb CSS Grid which is already included and can be configured in the perkins.config.less file, as well as many other options.
CreateJS is a good collection of HTML5 library.
http://www.createjs.com
While more than a javascript library HTML5 Boilerplate looks really usefull.
"HTML5 Boilerplate is the professional badass's base HTML/CSS/JS template for a fast, robust and future-proof site."
ExplorerCanvas — Modern browsers like Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera support the HTML5 canvas tag to allow 2D command-based drawing. ExplorerCanvas brings the same functionality to Internet Explorer. To use, web developers only need to include a single script tag in their existing web pages.
RoCanvas.js
Creates interactive drawing board that lets users draw on your site (can be useful for avatars, or much better for colaborative projects, learning etc