Many internally and externally visible web applications display data as graphs and charts. There are no shortage of tools and libraries to help you out, but in many cases the results are as attractive as a hat full of sphincters. In others, you have great control, but need to spend many hours to produce simple results. Compared to attractive, interactive charts such as in Google Finance and Yahoo! Finance yours might be looking a little old and frayed.

We will look at some pros and cons of different approaches and delivery mechanisms. With sample code and sample output you can decide how much coding effort you are willing to expend to achieve the quality and flexibility you need.

• Is a fixed resolution PNG acceptable in 2007?
• Will your users accept a closed source Flash plug in?
• Will your users install a non-default SVG plug in?
• Will picking Canvas or Dojo lead you into an endless twisty maze of passages as you try to make thousands of lines of JavaScript work on multiple browsers?
• Can taking the easy way out and buying a pre-built widget give you the flexibility you need?