What graphing packages/APIs exist for Ruby?

Question

Similar: What graphing packages/APIs exist for Perl?

I'm doing some research into online graphing packages for different languages and would like to know what current, up-to-date graphing packages there are for Ruby which are worth investigating.

Minimum desired capabilities should include the kind which Google offers through its API.

A brief synopsis of the key benefits of the recommended package / API would be appreciated.

Answer 1

rgplot is a ruby gnuplot gem. It enables gnuplot visualizations from ruby. I am a longtime fan of gnuplot, so I am biased - gnuplot gives a simple scripting approach to creating graphs. I also found something called rmagick which looks neat.

Answer 2

I quite like eXtended Ruby Vector Graphics (http://xrvg.rubyforge.org/)

Answer 3

I have the following bookmarked for investigation when time permits:

Flash-based

I haven't tried any of these yet, but they all look promising if you want snappy animation:

• amCharts
• FusionCharts
• Open Flash Chart
• Ziya gem

Google Charts

Both gems are somewhat works-in-progress. I've tried both in some simple cases, both worked fairlyl well, although I think a DSL-style alternative would be a winner. (Note to self).

• Googlecharts gem
• gchartrb gem

RMagick based

I am Windows-based, which seems to be a Bad Thing for RMagick installation. I got it working - briefly - then it stopped. In that time I managed to try gruff, which worked nicely enough. But the library is too much hassle for my short temper!

• Gruff gem

Answer 4

You also have ruby-gd, bindings for gd2.