The Plotalot API

Most Plotalot users don't need to use the Plotalot API. The API is only of interest to programmers who wish to include charts in their own Joomla components. The API is documented in a separate document, the Plotalot Developer Guide.

SimplePlot is a very simple Joomla Component that demonstrates how to use the Plotalot API. It is the "hello world" program for Plotalot, and should be studied in conjunction with the Plotalot Developer Guide. This page is displayed by SimplePlot.

Writing a Joomla component requires experience of programming, PHP, and the Joomla API.

SimplePlot installs some sample data into a table called xxx_plot_sample, and the code demonstrates how to retrieve a list of years from the table, construct a listbox, display the page, recover the user's selection, and draw a chart for the selected year. It is deliberately as simple as possible, to clearly demonstrate techniques to help you get started on building your own component. This example is not responsive.