Friday, March 21, 2008

XML Charts

So the requirements are simple I need a good free XML charting mechanism to show stock data for my site. I'm partial to choosing Flash based over Javascript just because I think Javascript is a bit clunkier.

I got the these requirements while looking for a Ruby graphing library. But all the available ones work at too basic a level or are too new. I initially started looking at gruff. But these are too low level as far as drawing is concerned. Since Rails has such a simple XML interface I figured expanding to XML would increase my ability to find good options.

So far the top contenders are:

  • XML/SWF - this one is a clear favorite because it seems to have the cleanest look and provides good support. There is a ruby interface available

  • Open Flash Charts - this one is totally free but seems to lag behind XML/SWF a bit. Would be the top contender though it it supported the ability to show both price, volume and something else simultaneously

  • FusionCharts - the free version of this is clunky and the commercial one too expensive


There is a Java option discussed in conjunction with rails here but I think the flash packages are better contained and simpler to work with for simple projects.

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