1 This is the README file for PHPlot
2 Last updated for PHPlot-5.3.1 on 2011-01-15
3 The project web site is http://sourceforge.net/projects/phplot/
4 The project home page is http://phplot.sourceforge.net/
5 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
9 PHPlot is a PHP class for creating scientific and business charts.
11 The release documentation contains only summary information. For more
12 complete information, download the PHPlot Reference Manual from the
13 Sourceforge project web site. You can also view the manual online at
14 http://phplot.sourceforge.net
16 For information about changes in this release, including any possible
17 incompatibilities, see the NEWS.txt file.
22 COPYING . . . . . . . . . . . . LGPL 2.1 License file
23 ChangeLog . . . . . . . . . . . Lists changes to the sources
24 NEWS.txt . . . . . . . . . . . . Highlights changes in releases
25 README.txt . . . . . . . . . . This file
26 contrib . . . . . . . . . . . . "Contributed" directory, add-ons
27 phplot.php . . . . . . . . . . The main PHPlot source file
28 rgb.inc.php . . . . . . . . . . Optional extended color table
33 You need a recent version of PHP5, and you are advised to use the latest
34 stable release. This version of PHPlot has been tested with PHP-5.3.5 and
35 PHP-5.2.17 on Linux, and with PHP-5.3.5 on Windows XP.
37 Use of PHP-5.3.2 or PHP-5.2.13 is not recommended, if you are using
38 TrueType Font (TTF) text. A bug with TTF rendering in those versions
39 affects PHPlot images. This was fixed in PHP-5.3.3 and PHP-5.2.14.
41 You need the GD extension to PHP either built in to PHP or loaded as a
42 module. Refer to the PHP documentation for more information - see the
43 Image Functions chapter in the PHP Manual. We test PHPlot only with the
44 PHP-supported, bundled GD library.
46 If you want to display PHPlot charts on a web site, you need a PHP-enabled
47 web server. You can also use the PHP CLI interface without a web server.
49 PHPlot supports TrueType fonts, but does not include any TrueType font
50 files. If you want to use TrueType fonts on your charts, you need to have
51 TrueType support in GD, and some TrueType font files. By default, PHPlot
52 uses a simple font which is built in to the GD library.
57 Unpack the distribution. (If you are reading this file, you have probably
60 Installation of PHPlot simply involves copying two script files somewhere
61 your PHP application scripts will be able to find them. The scripts are:
62 phplot.php - The main script file
63 rgb.inc.php - Optional large color table
64 Make sure the permissions on these files allow the web server to read them.
66 The ideal place is a directory outside your web server document area,
67 and on your PHP include path. You can add to the include path in the PHP
68 configuration file; consult the PHP manual for details.
73 Here are some of the problems we know about in PHPlot. See the bug tracker
74 on the PHPlot project web site for more information.
76 #3142124 Clip plot elements to plot area
77 Plot elements are not currently clipped to the plot area, and may extend
78 beyond. PHP does not currently support the GD clipping control.
80 #1795969 The automatic range calculation for Y values needs to be rewritten.
81 This is especially a problem with small offset ranges (e.g. Y=[999:1001]).
82 You can use SetPlotAreaWorld to set a specific range instead.
84 #1605558 Wide/Custom dashed lines don't work well
85 This is partially a GD issue, partially PHPlot's fault.
87 #2919086 Improve tick interval calculations
88 Tick interval calculations should try for intervals of 1, 2, or 5 times
93 PHP has many build-time and configuration options, and these can affect
94 the operation of PHPlot (as well as any other application or library). Here
95 are some known issues:
96 + Slackware Linux includes a version of PHP built with --enable-gd-jis-conv
97 (JIS-mapped Japanese font support). This prevents the usual UTF-8 encoding
98 of characters from working in TrueType Font (TTF) text strings.
99 + The Ubuntu Linux PHP GD package (php5-gd) was built to use the external
100 shared GD library, not the one bundled with PHP. This can result in small
101 differences in images, and some unsupported features (such as advanced
102 truecolor image operations). Also, although this Ubuntu GD library was
103 built with fontconfig support, PHP does not use it, so you still need to
104 specify TrueType fonts with their actual file names.
105 + Some PHP installations may have a memory limit set too low to support
106 large images, especially truecolor images.
109 If you think you found a problem with PHPlot, or want to ask questions or
110 provide feedback, please use the Help and Discussion forum at
111 http://sourceforge.net/projects/phplot/
112 If you are sure you have found a bug, you can report it on the Bug tracker
113 at the same web site. There is also a Features Request tracker.
118 You can test your installation by creating the following two files somewhere
119 in your web document area. First, the HTML file:
121 ------------ simpleplot.html ----------------------------
124 <title>Hello, PHPlot!</title>
128 <img src="simpleplot.php">
131 ---------------------------------------------------------
133 Second, in the same directory, the image file producing PHP script file.
134 Depending on where you installed phplot.php, you may need to specify a path
135 in the 'require' line below.
137 ------------ simpleplot.php -----------------------------
139 require 'phplot.php';
140 $plot = new PHPlot();
141 $data = array(array('', 0, 0), array('', 1, 9));
142 $plot->SetDataValues($data);
143 $plot->SetDataType('data-data');
145 ---------------------------------------------------------
147 Access the URL to 'simpleplot.html' in your web browser. If you see a
148 simple graph, you have successfully installed PHPlot. If you see no
149 graph, check your web server error log for more information.
152 COPYRIGHT and LICENSE:
154 PHPlot is Copyright (C) 1998-2011 Afan Ottenheimer
156 This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
157 modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
158 License as published by the Free Software Foundation;
159 version 2.1 of the License.
161 This software is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
162 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
163 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
164 Lesser General Public License for more details.
166 You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
167 License along with this software; if not, write to the Free Software
168 Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA