Following are descriptions of
some popular types of charts you can create using JSCHART format:
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Line charts. Line charts are useful for emphasizing
the movement or trend of numeric data over time, since they allow
a viewer to trace the evolution of a particular point by working
backwards or interpolating. Highs and lows, rapid or slow movement,
or a tendency toward stability are all types of trends that are
well suited to a line chart.
Line charts can also be plotted with
two or more scales to suggest a comparison of the same value, or
set of values, in different time periods. The number of scales your chart
has depends on the type of chart you select. For details, see Controlling Chart Type Using LOOKGRAPH.
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Bar charts. A bar or column chart plots numeric data
by displaying rectangular blocks against a scale. The length of
a bar corresponds to a value or amount. Viewers can develop a clear
mental image of comparisons among data series by distinguishing
the relative heights of the bars. Use a bar chart to display numeric
data when you want to present distributions of data. You can create
horizontal as well as vertical bar charts.
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Pie charts. A pie chart emphasizes where your data fits
in relation to a larger whole. Keep in mind that pie charts work
best when your data consists of several large sets. Too many variables
divide the pie into small segments that are difficult to see. Use
color or texture on individual segments to create visual contrast.
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Scatter charts. Scatter charts show the relationship
between two different numeric measures. Scatter plots give you a
sense of trends, concentrations, and outliers that pinpoint where
to focus further investigation efforts.
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Area charts. Area charts are similar to line charts except
that the area between the data line and the zero line (or axis)
is usually colored or textured. Area charts allow you to stack data
on top of each other. Stacking allows you to highlight the relationship
between data series, showing how some data series approach or shadow a
second series.
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3D charts. 3D charts add dimension to your presentation.
Dimensionality allows your viewers to recognize trends based on
two or more data sets. 3D charts also add impact to your presentation.
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Polar charts. A polar chart is a circular form of scatter
plot in which each point is defined by an angle and distance from
the center of the chart.
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Radar charts. A radar chart is a circular form of line
or area chart. Radar charts work well with any data that are cyclical,
such as the months of a year.
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Stock charts. A stock chart plots the trend or changes
in financial instruments over time.
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Bubble charts. A bubble chart is an enhanced scatter
plot in which the size of each marker is proportional to the value
of a third measure.
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Spectral charts. A spectral chart, also known as a heatmap,
is a table in which the color of each cell is dependent on the value
in the cell.
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Other charts. Many additional chart types are available
with the LOOKGRAPH parameter, including waterfall charts (which
are used for understanding how an initial value is affected by a
series of intermediate positive or negative values).
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HTML5-specific charts. Some chart types are only available
with FORMAT JSCHART. Among these are map charts (both choropleths
that use color to differentiate between value groups, and proportional
symbol maps that use the size of a bubble as the differentiator),
tagclouds (which display a word in a size proportional to its frequency),
and treemaps (which display hierarchical data as a set of nested rectangles).
For a complete list of the types of charts you can create and
the syntax for generating each type, see Controlling the Chart Type.