You can easily create simple charts and graph using PHP GD library. But when you need more complex charts or graphs then you will need advanced libraries. These libraries have importance in web development. Suppose you are in the middle of a project and need to get everything done as soon as possible then these awesome libraries will surely help you. Below is a small list of some of the awesome libraries available for creating charts using php.
1. pChart – a PHP class to build charts
pChart is a PHP class oriented framework designed to create charts. it is free of cost and available for download. By pChart, you can create eye candy graphics. Actually pChart mainly focuses on rendering quality and rendering speed enhancement.
Download: http://pchart.sourceforge.net/download.php
2. LibChart – Simple PHP chart drawing library
LibChart is a free chart creation PHP library. it is very easy to use. LibChart features with multiple datasets for horizontal, vertical bar charts and line charts.
Download: http://naku.dohcrew.com/libchart/pages/download/
3. JpGraph – Object-oriented graph creating library for PHP
JpGraph is an Object-Oriented Graph creating library for PHP >= 5.1. The library is completely written in PHP. you can use it with any PHP scripts (both CGI/APXS/CLI versions of PHP are supported).
Download: http://jpgraph.net/download/
4. Open Flash Chart -Flash based charting library.
Open Flash Chart is a wonderful open source program for creating charts in Flash. This library supports bar, line, area, and pie charts. It also includes server side classes to help generate the data file used as input. it is quite easy in implementation. All you have to do is copy the Open Flash Chart SWF file to your web server, then start embedding flash charts into your HTML and point to static or dynamic data on your server.
Download: http://teethgrinder.co.uk/open-flash-chart/download.php
5. PHP/SWF Charts -Web charts and graphs from dynamic data
PHP/SWF Charts is a simple, yet powerful PHP tool to create attractive web charts and graphs from dynamic data.
Download: http://www.maani.us/charts4/index.php?menu=Download
This is a very short list of PHP Chart library. You can also try other available library. Hope this post will be helpful for you. Please don’t forget to share your useful comments with us. Thanks!