The Google Visualization API is a great way for people to make dashboards with slick graphics based on data without getting into the fine print of the scripting language itself. It utilizes the same tools as Google itself does, and makes visualizing data using API calls to the Visualization API. Thus a real-time customizable dashboard that is publishable to the internet can be created within minutes, and more importantly insights can be much more easily drawn from graphs than from looking at rows of tables and numbers.
- There are 41 gadgets (including made by both Google and third-party developers ) available in the Gadget Gallery ( https://developers.google.com/chart/interactive/docs/gadgetgallery)
- There are 12 kinds of charts available in the Chart Gallery (https://developers.google.com/chart/interactive/docs/gallery) .
- However there 26 additional charts in the charts page at https://developers.google.com/chart/interactive/docs/more_charts )
Building and embedding charts is simplified to a few steps
- Load the AJAX API
- Load the Visualization API and the appropriate package (like piechart or barchart from the kinds of chart)
- Set a callback to run when the Google Visualization API is loaded
- Within the Callback – It creates and populates a data table, instantiates the particular chart type chosen, passes in the data and draws it.
- Create the data table with appropriately named columns and data rows.
- Set chart options with Title, Width and Height
- Instantiate and draw the chart, passing in some options including the name and id
- Finally write the HTML/ Div that will hold the chart
You can simply copy and paste the code directly from https://developers.google.com/chart/interactive/docs/quick_start without getting into any details, and tweak them according to your data, chart preference and voila your web dashboard is ready!
That is the beauty of working with API- you can create and display genius ideas without messing with the scripting languages and code (too much). If you like to dive deeper into the API, you can look at the various objects at https://developers.google.com/chart/interactive/docs/reference
First launched in Mar 2008, Google Visualization API has indeed come a long way in making dashboards easier to build for people wanting to utilize advanced data visualization . It came about directly as a result of Google’s 2007 acquisition of GapMinder (of Hans Rosling fame).
As invariably and inevitably computing shifts to the cloud, visualization APIs will be very useful. Tableau Software has been a pioneer in selling data visualizing to the lucrative business intelligence and business dashboards community (you can see the Tableau Software API at http://onlinehelp.tableausoftware.com/v7.0/server/en-us/embed_api.htm ), and Google Visualization can do the same and capture business dashboard and visualization market , if there is more focus on integrating it from Google in it’s multiple and often confusing API offerings.
However as of now, this is quite simply the easiest way to create a web dashboard for your personal needs. Google guarantees 3 years of backward compatibility with this API and it is completely free.
DECISION STATS 