Modern Monks,

I'll be writing a script to generate some graphs as images from scratch. Basic stuff like bar charts of data from an SQL query. Item a = 5, Item b = 13, Item c = 7.5, for example. I'll need to include in the image some textual labelling and titling.

I have never done this before and my nkowledg eof the common modules is what I've read in preparing for this.

Looking at technical options right now.

  1. GD::Graph - as I understand it, generates .png files. Has lots of facilities purpose-designed for creating charts, so will be "relatively" (heavily quialified) easy to get up and running. BUT, just how well do .png files scale when a user copies them off the web page that's returned and trie to paste it into Word, or PowerPoint, or something else to include in their report?
  2. XML::Writer & SVG - I read an interesting article, here:
    http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2001/07/11/creatingsvg.html
    about writing XML-based SVG image files using Perl. It looks slick, AND the images are scalable vector graphics. BUT, as I understand it, SVG is an Adobe format that requires a plug-in in many browsers - although MSIE 6 appears to display it just fine.

Anyone else had to decide between the two, or have an opinion?

Thanks.




Forget that fear of gravity,
Get a little savagery in your life.

In reply to Graphics Creation: GD &.png, or XML::Writer & SVG? by punch_card_don

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