Google Charts - Quick Guide

Google Charts is a pure JavaScript based charting library meant to enhance web applications by adding interactive charting capability. It supports a wide range of charts. Charts are drawn using SVG in standard browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer(IE). In legacy IE 6, VML is used to draw the graphics.
Following are the salient features of Google Charts library.
Compatability − Works seemlessly on all major browsers and mobile platforms like android and iOS.
Compatability − Works seemlessly on all major browsers and mobile platforms like android and iOS.
Multitouch Support − Supports multitouch on touch screen based platforms like android and iOS. Ideal for iPhone/iPad and android based smart phones/ tablets.
Multitouch Support − Supports multitouch on touch screen based platforms like android and iOS. Ideal for iPhone/iPad and android based smart phones/ tablets.
Free to Use − Open source and is free to use for non-commercial purpose.
Free to Use − Open source and is free to use for non-commercial purpose.
Lightweight − loader.js core library, is extremely lightweight library.
Lightweight − loader.js core library, is extremely lightweight library.
Simple Configurations − Uses json to define various configuration of the charts and very easy to learn and use.
Simple Configurations − Uses json to define various configuration of the charts and very easy to learn and use.
Dynamic − Allows to modify chart even after chart generation.
Dynamic − Allows to modify chart even after chart generation.
Multiple axes − Not restricted to x, y axis. Supports multiple axis on the charts.
Multiple axes − Not restricted to x, y axis. Supports multiple axis on the charts.
Configurable tooltips − Tooltip comes when a user hover over any point on a charts. googlecharts provides tooltip inbuilt formatter or callback formatter to control the tooltip programmatically.
Configurable tooltips − Tooltip comes when a user hover over any point on a charts. googlecharts provides tooltip inbuilt formatter or callback formatter to control the tooltip programmatically.
DateTime support − Handle date time specially. Provides numerous inbuilt controls over date wise categories.
DateTime support − Handle date time specially. Provides numerous inbuilt controls over date wise categories.
Print − Print chart using web page.
Print − Print chart using web page.
External data − Supports loading data dynamically from server. Provides control over data using callback functions.
External data − Supports loading data dynamically from server. Provides control over data using callback functions.
Text Rotation − Supports rotation of labels in any direction.
Text Rotation − Supports rotation of labels in any direction.
Google Charts library provides following types of charts −
Line Charts
Used to draw line/spline based charts.
Area Charts
Used to draw area wise charts.
Pie Charts
Used to draw pie charts.
Sankey Charts, Scatter Charts, Stepped area charts, Table, Timelines, TreeMap, Trendlines
Used to draw scattered charts.
Bubble Charts
Used to draw bubble based charts.
Dynamic Charts
Used to draw dynamic charts where user can modify charts.
Combinations
Used to draw combinations of variety of charts.
3D Charts
Used to draw 3D charts.
Angular Gauges
Used to draw speedometer type charts.
Heat Maps
Used to draw heat maps.
Tree Maps
Used to draw tree maps.
In next chapters, we're going to discuss each type of above mentioned charts in details with examples.
Google Charts is open source and is free to use. Follow the link: Terms of Service.
In this chapter we will discuss about how to set up Google Charts library to be used in web application development.
There are two ways to use Google Charts.
Download − Download it locally from https://developers.google.com/chart and use it.
Download − Download it locally from https://developers.google.com/chart and use it.
CDN access − You also have access to a CDN. The CDN will give you access around the world to regional data centers that in this case, Google Chart host https://www.gstatic.com/charts.
CDN access − You also have access to a CDN. The CDN will give you access around the world to regional data centers that in this case, Google Chart host https://www.gstatic.com/charts.
Include the googlecharts JavaScript file in the HTML page using following script −
<head>
   <script src = "/googlecharts/loader.js"></script>
</head>
Include the Google Chart JavaScript file in the HTML page using following script −
<head>
   <script src = "https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js"></script>
</head>
In this chapter we'll showcase the configuration required to draw a chart using Google Chart API.
Create an HTML page with the Google Chart libraries.
googlecharts_configuration.htm
<html>
   <head>
      <title>Google Charts Tutorial</title>
      <script type = "text/javascript" src = "https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js">
      </script>
      <script type = "text/javascript">
         google.charts.load('current', {packages: ['corechart']});     
      </script>
   </head>
   
   <body>
      <div id = "container" style = "width: 550px; height: 400px; margin: 0 auto">
      </div>
   </body>
</html>
Here container div is used to contain the chart drawn using Google Chart library. Here we are loading the latest version of corecharts API using google.charts.load method.
Google Chart library uses very simple configurations using json syntax.
// Instantiate and draw the chart.
var chart = new google.visualization.PieChart(document.getElementById('container'));
chart.draw(data, options);
Here data represents the json data and options represents the configuration which Google Chart library uses to draw a chart withing container div using draw() method. Now we'll configure the various parameter to create the required json string.
Configure the options of the chart.
// Set chart options
var options = {'title':'Browser market shares at a specific website, 2014',
   'width':550,
   'height':400};
Configure the data to be displayed on the chart. DataTable is a special table structured collection which contains the data of the chart. Columns of data table represents the legends and rows represents the corresponding data. addColumn() method is used to add a column where first parameter represents the data type and second parameter represents the legend. addRows() method is used to add rows accordingly.
// Define the chart to be drawn.
var data = new google.visualization.DataTable();
data.addColumn('string', 'Browser');
data.addColumn('number', 'Percentage');
data.addRows([
   ['Firefox', 45.0],
   ['IE', 26.8],
   ['Chrome', 12.8],
   ['Safari', 8.5],
   ['Opera', 6.2],
   ['Others', 0.7]
]);
// Instantiate and draw the chart.
var chart = new google.visualization.PieChart(document.getElementById('container'));
chart.draw(data, options);
Following is the complete example −
googlecharts_configuration.htm
<html>
   <head>
      <title>Google Charts Tutorial</title>
      <script type = "text/javascript" src = "https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js">
      </script>
      <script type = "text/javascript">
         google.charts.load('current', {packages: ['corechart']});     
      </script>
   </head>
   
   <body>
      <div id = "container" style = "width: 550px; height: 400px; margin: 0 auto">
      </div>
      <script language = "JavaScript">
         function drawChart() {
            // Define the chart to be drawn.
            var data = new google.visualization.DataTable();
            data.addColumn('string', 'Browser');
            data.addColumn('number', 'Percentage');
            data.addRows([
               ['Firefox', 45.0],
               ['IE', 26.8],
               ['Chrome', 12.8],
               ['Safari', 8.5],
               ['Opera', 6.2],
               ['Others', 0.7]
            ]);
               
            // Set chart options
            var options = {'title':'Browser market shares at a specific website, 2014', 'width':550, 'height':400};

            // Instantiate and draw the chart.
            var chart = new google.visualization.PieChart(document.getElementById ('container'));
            chart.draw(data, options);
         }
         google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawChart);
      </script>
   </body>
</html>
Following code call drawChart function to draws chart when Google Chart library get loaded completely.
google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawChart);
Verify the result.
Area charts are used to draw area based charts. In this section we're going to discuss following types of area based charts.
Basic area chart
Area chart having negative values.
Chart having areas stacked over one another.
Chart with data in percentage terms.
Chart with missing points in the data.
Area using inverted axes.
Bar charts are used to draw bar based charts. In this section we're going to discuss following types of bar based charts.
Basic bar chart
Grouped Bar chart.
Bar chart having bar stacked over one another.
Bar chart with negative stack.
Bar Chart with data in percentage terms.
A Material Design inspired bar chart.
Bar chart with data labels.
Bubble charts are used to draw bubble based charts. In this section we're going to discuss following types of bubble based charts.
Basic bubble chart.
Bubble chart with data labels.
Calendar charts are used to draw activities over the course of long span of time like months or years. In this section we're going to discuss following types of calendar based charts.
Basic Calendar chart.
Customized Calendar Chart.
Candlestick charts are used to show opening and closing value over a value variance and are normally used to represent stocks. In this section we're going to discuss following types of candlestick based charts.
Basic Candlestick chart.
Customized Candlestick Chart.
Column charts are used to draw column based charts. In this section we're going to discuss following types of column based charts.
Basic Column chart.
Grouped Column chart.
Column chart having column stacked over one another.
Column chart with negative stack.
Column Chart with data in percentage terms.
A Material Design inspired column chart.
Column chart with data labels.
Combination chart helps in rendering each series as a different marker type from the following list: line, area, bars, candlesticks, and stepped area. To assign a default marker type for series, use the seriesType property. Series property is to be useed to specify properties of each series individually. We've already seen the configuration used to draw this chart in Google Charts Configuration Syntax chapter. So, let's see the complete example.
We've used ComboChart class to show combination based chart.
//combination chart
var chart = new google.visualization.ComboChart(document.getElementById('container'));

googlecharts_combination_chart.htm
<html>
   <head>
      <title>Google Charts Tutorial</title>
      <script type = "text/javascript" src = "https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js">
      </script>
      <script type = "text/javascript">
         google.charts.load('current', {packages: ['corechart']});     
      </script>
   </head>
   
   <body>
      <div id = "container" style = "width: 550px; height: 400px; margin: 0 auto">
      </div>
      <script language = "JavaScript">
         function drawChart() {
            // Define the chart to be drawn.
            var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([
               ['Fruit', 'Jane', 'John', 'Average'],
               ['Apples', 3, 2, 2.5],
               ['Oranges', 2, 3, 2.5],
               ['Pears', 1, 5, 3],
               ['Bananas', 3, 9, 6],
               ['Plums', 4, 2, 3]      
            ]);
              
            // Set chart options
            var options = {
               title : 'Fruits distribution',
               vAxis: {title: 'Fruits'},
               hAxis: {title: 'Person'},
               seriesType: 'bars',
               series: {2: {type: 'line'}}
            };

            // Instantiate and draw the chart.
            var chart = new google.visualization.ComboChart(document.getElementById('container'));
            chart.draw(data, options);
         }
         google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawChart);
      </script>
   </body>
</html>
Verify the result.
A histogram is a chart that groups numeric data into buckets, displaying the buckets as segmented columns. They're used to depict the distribution of a dataset as how often values fall into ranges. Google Charts automatically chooses the number of buckets for you. All buckets are equal width and have a height proportional to the number of data points in the bucket. Histograms are similar to column charts in other aspects. In this section we're going to discuss following types of histogram based charts.
Basic Histogram chart.
Customized Color of Histrogram Chart.
Customized Buckets of Histrogram Chart.
Histrogram Chart having multiple series.
Line charts are used to draw line based charts. In this section we're going to discuss following types of line based charts.
Basic line chart.
Chart with visible data points.
Chart with customized background color.
Chart with customized line color.
Chart with customized axis and tick labels.
Line charts showing crosshairs at data point on selection.
Chart with customized line color.
Chart with smooth curve lines.
A Material Design inspired line chart.
A Material Design inspired line chart with X-Axis on top of the chart.
A Google Map Chart uses Google Maps API to display Map. Data values are displayed as markers on the map. Data values may be coordinates (lat-long pairs) or actual addresses. The map will be scaled accordingly so that it includes all the identified points.
Basic Google Map.
Map having locations specified using Latitude and Longitude.
Customized Markers in Map.
Organization chart helps in rendering a hierarchy of nodes, used to portray superior/subordinate relationships in an organization. For example, A family tree is a type of org chart.. We've already seen the configuration used to draw this chart in Google Charts Configuration Syntax chapter. So, let's see the complete example.
We've used OrgChart class to show organization based chart.
//organization chart
var chart = new google.visualization.OrgChart(document.getElementById('container'));

googlecharts_organization_chart.htm
<html>
   <head>
      <title>Google Charts Tutorial</title>
      <script type = "text/javascript" src = "https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js">
      </script>
      <script type = "text/javascript">
         google.charts.load('current', {packages: ['orgchart']});     
      </script>
   </head>
   
   <body>
      <div id = "container" style = "width: 550px; height: 400px; margin: 0 auto">
      </div>
      <script language = "JavaScript">
         function drawChart() {
            // Define the chart to be drawn.
            var data = new google.visualization.DataTable();   
            data.addColumn('string', 'Name');
            data.addColumn('string', 'Manager');
            data.addColumn('string', 'ToolTip');

            // For each orgchart box, provide the name, manager, and tooltip to show.
            data.addRows([
               [{v:'Robert', f:'Robert<div style="color:red; font-style:italic">President</div>'},'', 'President'],
               [{v:'Jim', f:'Jim<div style="color:red; font-style:italic">Vice President</div>'},'Robert', 'Vice President'],
               ['Alice', 'Robert', ''],
               ['Bob', 'Jim', 'Bob Sponge'],
               ['Carol', 'Bob', '']
            ]);			

            // Set chart options
            var options = {allowHtml:true};
                  
            // Instantiate and draw the chart.
            var chart = new google.visualization.OrgChart(document.getElementById('container'));
            chart.draw(data, options);
         }
         google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawChart);
      </script>
   </body>
</html>
Verify the result.
Pie charts are used to draw pie based charts. In this section we're going to discuss following types of pie based charts.
Basic pie chart.
Donut Chart.
3D Pie chart.
Pie chart with exploded slices.
A sankey chart is a visualization tool and is used to depict a flow from one set of values to another. Connected objects are called nodes and the connections are called links. Sankeys are used to show a many-to-many mapping between two domains or multiple paths through a set of stages.
Basic Sankey Chart.
Multilevel Sankey Chart.
Customized Sankey Chart.
Sankey Charts, Scatter Charts, Stepped area charts, Table, Timelines, TreeMap, Trendlines are used to draw scatter based charts. In this section we're going to discuss following types of scatter based charts.
Basic scatter chart.
Material Scatter Chart.
Material Scatter Chart having dual Y-Axis.
Material Scatter Chart having X-Axis on top.
A stepped area chart is a step based area chart. We're going to discuss following types of stepped area charts.
Basic Stepped Area Chart.
Stacked Stepped Area Chart.
100% Stacked Stepped Area Chart.
Table chart helps in rendering a table which can be sorted and paged. Table cells can be formatted using format strings, or by directly inserting HTML as cell values. Numeric values are right-aligned by default; boolean values are displayed as check marks or cross marks. Users can select single rows either with the keyboard or the mouse. Column headers can be used for sorting. The header row remains fixed during scrolling. The table fires events corresponding to user interaction. We've already seen the configuration used to draw this chart in Google Charts Configuration Syntax chapter. So, let's see the complete example.
We've used Table class to show Table based chart.
//table chart
var chart = new google.visualization.Table(document.getElementById('container'));

googlecharts_table_chart.htm
<html>
   <head>
      <title>Google Charts Tutorial</title>
      <script type = "text/javascript" src = "https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js">
      </script>
      <script type = "text/javascript">
         google.charts.load('current', {packages: ['table']});     
      </script>
   </head>
   
   <body>
      <div id = "container" style = "width: 550px; height: 400px; margin: 0 auto">
      </div>
      <script language = "JavaScript">
         function drawChart() {
            // Define the chart to be drawn.
            var data = new google.visualization.DataTable();
            data.addColumn('string', 'Name');
            data.addColumn('number', 'Salary');
            data.addColumn('boolean', 'Full Time Employee');
            data.addRows([
               ['Mike',  {v: 10000, f: '$10,000'}, true],
               ['Jim',   {v:8000,   f: '$8,000'},  false],
               ['Alice', {v: 12500, f: '$12,500'}, true],
               ['Bob',   {v: 7000,  f: '$7,000'},  true]
            ]);

            var options = {
               showRowNumber: true,
               width: '100%', 
               height: '100%'
            };
                  
            // Instantiate and draw the chart.
            var chart = new google.visualization.Table(document.getElementById('container'));
            chart.draw(data, options);
         }
         google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawChart);
      </script>
   </body>
</html>
Verify the result.
Timelines depicts how a set of resources are used over time. We're going to discuss following types of Timelines charts.
Basic Timelines Chart
Timelines Chart with data labels
Timelines chart  without Row Label
Customized Timelines Chart
TreeMap is a visual representation of a data tree, where each node may have zero or more children, and one parent (except for the root). Each node is displayed as a rectangle, can be sized and colored according to values that we assign. Sizes and colors are valued relative to all other nodes in the graph. Following is an example of a treemap chart. We've already seen the configuration used to draw this chart in Google Charts Configuration Syntax chapter. So, let's see the complete example.
We've used TreeMap class to show treemap diagram.
//TreeMap chart
var chart = new google.visualization.TreeMap(document.getElementById('container'));

googlecharts_treemap.htm
<html>
   <head>
      <title>Google Charts Tutorial</title>
      <script type = "text/javascript" src = "https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js">
      </script>
      <script type = "text/javascript" src = "https://www.google.com/jsapi">
      </script>
      <script type = "text/javascript">
         google.charts.load('current', {packages: ['treemap']});     
      </script>
   </head>
   
   <body>
      <div id = "container" style = "width: 550px; height: 400px; margin: 0 auto">
      </div>
      <script language = "JavaScript">
         function drawChart() {
            // Define the chart to be drawn.
            var data = new google.visualization.DataTable();
            var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([
               ['Location', 'Parent', 'Market trade volume (size)', 'Market increase/decrease (color)'],
               ['Global',    null,                 0,                               0],
               ['America',   'Global',             0,                               0],
               ['Europe',    'Global',             0,                               0],
               ['Asia',      'Global',             0,                               0],
               ['Australia', 'Global',             0,                               0],
               ['Africa',    'Global',             0,                               0],  
               
               ['USA',       'America',            52,                              31],
               ['Mexico',    'America',            24,                              12],
               ['Canada',    'America',            16,                              -23],
               
               ['France',    'Europe',             42,                              -11],
               ['Germany',   'Europe',             31,                              -2],
               ['Sweden',    'Europe',             22,                              -13],   
               
               ['China',     'Asia',               36,                              4],
               ['Japan',     'Asia',               20,                              -12],
               ['India',     'Asia',               40,                              63],                  
               
               ['Egypt',     'Africa',             21,                              0],          
               ['Congo',     'Africa',             10,                              12],
               ['Zaire',     'Africa',             8,                               10]
            ]);
            var options = {      
               minColor: '#f00',
               midColor: '#ddd',
               maxColor: '#0d0',
               headerHeight: 15,
               fontColor: 'black',
               showScale: true
            };
                  
            // Instantiate and draw the chart.
            var chart = new google.visualization.TreeMap(document.getElementById('container'));
            chart.draw(data, options);
         }
         google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawChart);
      </script>
   </body>
</html>
Verify the result.
A trendline is a line superimposed on a chart to reveal the overall direction of the data. Google Charts can automatically generate trendlines for Sankey Charts, Scatter Charts, Stepped area charts, Table, Timelines, TreeMap, Trendlines, Bar Charts, Column Charts, and Line Charts.. We're going to discuss following types of trendlines charts.
Basic Trendlines Chart.
Exponential Trendlines Chart.
Polynomial Trendlines Chart.
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