In response to a URL, the Google Chart API will create an image in PNG format. There are several different types of charts available, including: bar charts, line graphics, scatter plots, pie charts and Venn diagraphs.
These images can be easily inserted into a webpage by embedding a URL within an img tag, so that when the page is displayed in a browser, the Chart API leaves the image within the page.
This new Google feature was originally created by the team at Google in Zurich for use internally. You may recognize the charts, as they have appeared in Google Video and Google Finance numerous times and now Google has made it available to everyone.
If you would like to learn more about Google Charts API, then check out the Developer's Guide website. It is here that you can learn about the processes and codes used when making these charts. Once you understand the basics, you will be making your own great charts in no time. Let us know what you think of this new Google feature by leaving a comment below.
Posted by Courtney Mills at 7:48 AM GMT
We've actually written a wrapper class for the Google Chart API:http://www.talkphp.com/showthread.php?t=1704