hi there!
how do i (after getting the right stock prices from a source) show it on a "live graph". i'm looking for a php/ajax toolkit that allows me to create that graph live?
is that the right thing to use or a flash based solution is better?
are there 3rdparty sites that offer to create live graphs given input data?
you can have a look at JPGRAPH. It is a wonderful library for creating wide variety of graphs. As far as ajax is concerned this library outputs the graph as a picture file, so you can easily send the required parameters using ajax and build the graph dynamically using ajax.
PHPlot also is a free library: http://phplot.sourceforge.net, but compared to JPGraph it's rather limited. It also delivers a picture so you could grab that via AJAX and display it.
Highcharts is probably what you need.
I recently started a new project to simplify the construction of a graph when using php:
http://aloiroberto.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/highcharts-php-library/
Also, Google Charts or Open Flash Chart are concrete possibilities (the latter will require Flash).
Birdeye has some incredibly powerful graphing tools. Check out the Birdeye Explorer to get a sense of what you can do with it.
The open source real-time plotter called LiveGraph can be embedded into any applet (see http://www.live-graph.org). That is, if using an applet is suitable in your case. You can see some of LiveGraph's functionality in action here:
http:// vlab.infotech.monash.edu.au/simulations/daisy-worlds/classic-daisy-world/demo/