Approaches to embedded vector images/charts into PDF

Question

How have people from the Linux world embedded vector images into PDF?

I am attempting to create automated reports from data that I currently render as SVG images. Ideally, I would like to use the same XML in PostScript, PDF or DjVu format. To what degree are those formats able to handle SVG natively?

More broadly, what have people's experiences been? Should I

1. reuse the native SVG XML?
2. rasterise SVGs that have already been created?
3. or use another format?

I'm restricted to formats that are accessible from Ubuntu 10.04 & Python. This will probably exclude me from utilising Adobe Illustrator files.

Answer 1

Investigate Apache FOP, its main purpose is to convert XML to PDF.

Upsides (for this project):

• full Apache project (=> reliable)

Downsides (for this project):

• Will need to learn XSL-FO
• Not Python

Answer 2

Batik is a nice Java SVG library. It has a utility library called batik-rasterizer.jar which can convert SVG into a some useful formats: PDF, TIFF, PNG, and GIF.

You could use Jython to link to this library with python.