Google Charts API

Wow, I just finished my first chart with the Google Charts API. I had a great use case for it and it delivered way above expectations.

I have started to work on an existing web site for "Hear The Cry" which is a ministry of Vineyard Church of Columbus. The feature request was to add a progress indicator for each project to visualize how the funding is progressing in terms of the project goal. Here is how it turned out: Link.

The API was incredibly easy to learn, thanks in part to the fact that the only interface to the API is via URL. Within 25 minutes I had something that looks like this:

Here is the URL which becomes the source in your img tag:
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=bhs&chs=200x50&chd=t:70|100&chco=F6D472,7AD3F7&chxt=x,y&chxl=1:|%%20Funded|0:|0|20|40|60|80|100&chf=bg,s,EBF8FE

And to update my funding status, I simply change &chd=t:70|100 to &chd=t:75|100. Cake!!!

Background/colors/and axis labels are all changeable via the URL. For a breakdown of each parameter and what it does you can hit the Google Charts Developer API docs.

With the understanding of the API and how it works now, I'm sure I could whip out some more complicated charts in no time - the API is very intuitive and straightforward.