Overview

PowerCharts v3 from FusionCharts v3 suite is a set of advanced charting widgets that allow you to plot visually arresting, interactive and powerful charts. Intensively using the rich feature set provided by Adobe Flash™, the charts from PowerCharts v3 allow you to add Rich Internet Applications (RIA) functionality to your web apps, thereby rendering an end-user experience like never before. These charts can be used for a variety of purposes like simulations, visual data selection, scientific plotting, financial analysis etc.

Since PowerCharts is based on FusionCharts v3 framework, it utilizes most of the features provided by the parent v3 suite itself. Like FusionCharts v3, PowerCharts uses XML as its data interface and can work with any web scripting language like HTML, .NET, ASP, JSP, PHP, ColdFusion etc.

This documentation focuses more on PowerCharts side of story rather than going back to basics of FusionCharts. For FusionCharts basics, you can refer to FusionCharts v3 Documentation or see "FusionCharts v3 Basics" section reproduced in this documentation. In most parts of this documentation, we've used the Column 2D/3D Chart from FusionCharts v3 suite to explain generic features provided by FusionCharts v3 framework. These features can be applied to each of the PowerCharts charts as well.

The 2D/3D column chart is NOT a part of PowerCharts suite. But it's one of the simplest charts in entire FusionCharts suite, and as such, things will be much easier for you to grasp when explained in perspective of this chart. Once you're a pro with the basics, you can easily apply the same concepts to your PowerCharts charts.

Also, throughout this documentation, we'll synonymously use the term FusionCharts v3 and PowerCharts v3.

 
Advantages of using PowerCharts/FusionCharts
Animated and interactive Charts
  Using FusionCharts, you can quickly and easily render animated charts that have a lot of interactive options for the end users. Different chart types support different forms of animation and interactivity, thereby providing a different experience to the end users.
   
Unique chart types available
  PowerCharts offers a unique set of charts, that you might not have seen on the web before. These charts are generic chart types that can be used for a variety of purposes.
   
Easy yet powerful AJAX/JavaScript integration
  FusionCharts offers advanced options to integrate charts with AJAX applications or JavaScript modules. You can update charts on client side, invoke JavaScript functions as hotspot links, or make dynamic calls for XML data to server without involving any page refreshes.
   
No installation hassles
  To use FusionCharts, you do not have to install anything on your server. All you need to do is copy paste the SWF files (the core files of FusionCharts) to your server, just like you would do to any image files - and you're ready to go! So, even on those servers which do not allow installation of ActiveX or any other form of components, FusionCharts can run without any hassles.
   
Easy to use
  FusionCharts makes the chart creation process a painless experience for you. Since it uses XML as its data, all you need to do is convert your data into XML using a programming language or using the visual GUI provided in FusionCharts - and that's all what is required to create interactive and animated charts.
   
Runs on a variety of platforms
  Irrespective of what server side scripting language you're using, FusionCharts can be used to create charts in that. Since FusionCharts uses XML as the data interface, you can run it on any server and against any scripting language. Also, to view the charts, your users just need to have Adobe Flash Player 8, which is one of the most used browser plugins on the planet.
   
Reduces load on your servers
 

In traditional image based charting systems, the charts are generated as image at the server side. So, for each chart that you need to serve to a user, you'll have to build complex images on the server and then stream it to the client. When the need of hour is high, this can be an expensive resource on the server, as image creation takes a lot of toll on the server.

FusionCharts brings you great relief - all the charts are rendered at client side using the widely installed Adobe Flash Platform. The server is just responsible for streaming the pre-built SWF files and your XML data files to the end viewers. From there on, Flash Player takes the onus of rendering the charts. Also, the chart SWF Files can be cached so that you can just update the data, and not send chart SWF files every time.
   
Clear licensing policies
 

FusionCharts offers you a clear cut no-nonsense licensing model. We do NOT charge for per-testing server or per-production server. Once you buy a license of FusionCharts, you can host it on multiple servers, if all those servers are hosting the same website. We offer unlimited development servers, unlimited test servers and unlimited CPUs on a given server with each license of FusionCharts.

Moreover, if you're using multiple technologies for the same application - like say, ASP for a few modules and PHP for a few modules, you can use FusionCharts for both of them, without having to pay us anything additional. This saves you a lot on licensing cost and renders a generic look and feel to all the charts of your application.