8       Charting

A Chart picture is worth a 1,000 words... This adage rings especially true when it comes to charting. Charts summarize and illuminate patterns in data in a way that long tables of numbers simply cannot.

BI Studio is an encompassing set of charts for business intelligence projects or applications. The Chart Controls suite offers a wide array of chart types and charting features. The Chart Controls offer all of the standard chart types:  line charts bar charts, pie charts, column charts, stack charts and so forth - as well as more specialized ones, like pyramid and bubble charts.

The Chart Controls suite offers a comprehensive set of charting features, including support for multiple series, customizable legends, trend lines, and labels. And the Chart Controls makes it easy to sort, search, filter, group, and export the chart data.

8.1        Chart Designer

Chart designer allows you to add standard and advanced charts to your apps.  It provides and an wizard which guide you through customizing the chart's look and feel and specifying its data source.

The Chart Designer allows you to add new Data Series, Labels, Titles, Axes and other options.

8.1.1     Chart Area

Chart area represents a chart area on the chart image. Within any given chart, the inner plot position is the rectangular area, inside the x and y-axis lines, where the data points are drawn. The plot position is the rectangular area that encompasses the inner plot position, the tick marks, and the axis labels. The chart area is the rectangular area that encompasses the plot position, the tick marks, the axis labels and the axis titles on the chart.

When you use Shape chart types, which include pie, doughnut, funnel, pyramid, polar, and radar charts, the inner plotting position defines the size of the chart type shape. A Chart Area Objekt:

·         Uses one distinct inner plotting area.

·         Is used to plot one or more chart series.

·         Has primary and secondary x and y-axes, except for pie and doughnut chart types.

8.1.2     Data Series

The data series or chart series are used to show data as a chart type (bar, column, line etc.). A data series stores data point objects and also stores attributes of the data series. For example, a data series has a color attribute, background image attribute, background gradient attribute, and so forth.

The data point objects that belong to a series also have their own attributes. Normally, if the same attribute is set for a data point and the series to which it belongs, the data point attribute has precedence. When a series is created, it is automatically assigned to the chart area object named "Default", or to the first available chart area in the chart area collection if the "Default" objects does not exist.

8.1.3     Chart Types

The Chart type determines the type of chart that will be used to plot this series, if it is drawn. The chart type that will be used to represent the series. The following chart types are available: