Book Image

Google Visualization API Essentials

By : Traci Lynn Ruthkoski
Book Image

Google Visualization API Essentials

By: Traci Lynn Ruthkoski

Overview of this book

There's a lot of data in our world, and visual representations are often the best method of making sense of it all. Yet, it should not take an army of programmers and analysts to create visualizations in order to make data useful. The Google Visualization API is accessible to novice and advanced programmers alike, making data useful to more people."Google Visualization API Essentials" will show you how to create interactive data displays with very little code. The API, combined with Google Spreadsheets and Fusion Tables, is a complete system, from data management to analytical displays. Not only is it simple to learn, but the Google Visualization API can also be viewed as a first step to learning additional Google APIs."Google Visualization API Essentials" uses both methodology overviews and hands-on examples with real data to introduce chart and graph creation on the Google platform. Topics are presented from various aspects, including Google Spreadsheets and Fusion Tables, and Graphic User Interfaces. An overview of the various API development environments available to developers is also covered. Basic and advanced charts, data source connectivity, style formatting, and publishing options are also explored in depth."Google Visualization API Essentials" brings the arsenal of Google Visualizations into the web developer toolkit.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)

Chapter 3. Spreadsheets, Charts, and Fusion Tables

As a result of high demand for the Visualization API, Fusion Tables API, and Maps API functionalities, several applications have been developed by Google to provide a simple graphic user interface (GUI) on top of these common but fairly complex integrations. Fusion Tables and Google Spreadsheets provide application interfaces for chart creation, but ultimately rely on various underlying Google API infrastructure functionalities. Using the GUIs prior to direct API manipulation offers an easy-to-understand building block for learning the Visualization API.

In this chapter we will cover:

  • Creating charts in Google Spreadsheets

  • The Chart Editor

  • Apps Script

  • Creating charts in Google Fusion Tables

  • Geocoding

  • Markers, Lines, Areas, and Info Windows