Create sophisticated mashups using Google charts, Ajax, and Project Zero (WebSphere SMash)

Zero simplifies the creation process with integrated Groovy scripting

Before you start

This article assumes that you have downloaded Project Zero M4 and used it to create one or more applications. You need a basic understanding of Groovy scripting, Ajax Technology, and HTML, which can be obtained through the tutorials and examples of Zero.

Introduction: Google Charts API

Google Charts is a great service that allows developers to use simple HTTP get requests to generate graphics and graphs. The client sends a request to Http://chart.apis.google.com/chart, and also sends one or more query parameters indicating the type of chart that is required; The complete list of these query parameters can be found in the Google Charts API documentation. Currently, the API allows control over a number of properties, including the title, layout, color, axis, data, and description of the chart. Figure 1 is a simple example of using the API.

Figure 1. Sample chart: (Source: google.com)

If you right-click on the image and select Properties, you can see the URL used to generate the chart. In the following section I will talk about the specific role of query string parameters. However, the names of the query parameters are quite cliché, and when you combine them into a URL, the URLs you get are tedious and tedious. In the next section, you will begin to encapsulate these complex URLs with the Groovy code that runs on Project Zero.