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Create a Map Using PHP in FusionCharts

Overview

FusionCharts is a JavaScript charting library that enables you to create interactive charts, gauges, maps and dashboards in JavaScript. We have built a simple server-side PHP wrapper for FusionCharts. The FusionCharts server-side PHP wrapper lets you easily add rich and interactive charts to any PHP project. Using the wrapper, you can create maps in your browsers, without writing any JavaScript code.

In this page, we'll see how to install FusionCharts and render a map using the FusionCharts PHP wrapper.

Installation

In this section, we will show you how to install FusionCharts Suite XT and the FusionCharts PHP wrapper and all the other dependencies on your system.

The FusionCharts PHP server-side wrapper requires PHP 5 or higher.

To install the FusionCharts Suite, follow the steps below:

  • Include the FusionCharts JavaScript files, which can be downloaded from here.

  • Copy and paste the fusioncharts.php file from integrations > php > fusioncharts-wrapper in your project folder.

  • Include the map renderer file.

  • Include the FusionCharts theme file to apply the style to the charts.


// Include FusionCharts core file
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script>

// Include FusionCharts maps file
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.maps.js"></script>

// Include FusionCharts Theme file
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>



// Include FusionCharts core file
<script type="text/javascript" src="path/to/local/fusioncharts.js"></script>

// Include FusionCharts maps file
<script type="text/javascript" src="path/to/local/fusioncharts.maps.js"></script>

// Include FusionCharts Theme file
<script type="text/javascript" src="path/to/local/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>

That completes the installation of FusionCharts Suite and the PHP wrapper.

Create you First map

In this section, we will create a visualization using the World Map showing the average annual population growth.

The chart will look like as shown below:

FusionCharts will load here..

The data for this chart is represented in the table below:

State Entity Name Value
North America NA 82
South America SA 2.04
Asia AS 1.78
Europe EU 40
Africa AF 2.58
Australia AU 1.30

Convert tabular data into JSON format

Now that you have the tabular data ready, it's time to convert it into JSON format, as FusionCharts accepts data in JSON or XML format.

In the above table, the column Entity Name represents the geographical entities represented in the map, whose full names are given in the State column.

However, when you convert the data into a format (JSON or XML) supported by FusionCharts, the entities are denoted by the id key in the data object.

For any map visualization, it is important to provide the correct value for the id keys. For example, if you want to denote Africa, the value for the corresponding id must be AF and not AFR.

We have a detailed Map Specification Sheets for all the maps that can be rendered using FusionCharts, where you can find the correct id of the maps you want to create.

In this example, we will use the JSON format, as shown below:

{
    // Map Configuration
    "chart": {
        "caption": "Average Annual Population Growth",
        "subcaption": " 1955-2015",
        "numbersuffix": "%",
        "includevalueinlabels": "1",
        "labelsepchar": ": ",
        "entityFillHoverColor": "#FFF9C4",
        "theme": "fusion"
    },
    // Aesthetics; ranges synced with the slider
    "colorrange": {
        "minvalue": "0",
        "code": "#FFE0B2",
        "gradient": "1",
        "color": [{
            "minvalue": "0.5",
            "maxvalue": "1.0",
            "color": "#FFD74D"
        }, {
            "minvalue": "1.0",
            "maxvalue": "2.0",
            "color": "#FB8C00"
        }, {
            "minvalue": "2.0",
            "maxvalue": "3.0",
            "color": "#E65100"
        }]
    },
    // Source data as JSON --> id represents countries of world.
    "data": [{
        "id": "NA",
        "value": ".82",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }, {
        "id": "SA",
        "value": "2.04",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }, {
        "id": "AS",
        "value": "1.78",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }, {
        "id": "EU",
        "value": ".40",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }, {
        "id": "AF",
        "value": "2.58",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }, {
        "id": "AU",
        "value": "1.30",
        "showLabel": "1"
    }]
}

In the above JSON data:

  • Create the chart object to define the elements of the map.

  • Create the colorRange array to set the color associated with the specific range of values.

  • Specify minValue and maxValue within the color array under the colorRange array.

  • Create the data array to define the id of the continents and their corresponding values along with configurations.

The chart object and the respective arrays contain a set of key-value pairs known as attributes. These attributes are used to set the functional and cosmetic properties of the map.

Now that you have converted the tabular data to JSON format, let's learn how to render the map.

Render the Map

To render the chart, follow the steps below:

  1. Include the FusionCharts PHP wrapper in your project.

  2. Include the fusioncharts library.

  3. Include the map renderer file.

  4. Include the map definition file.

  5. Include the FusionCharts theme file to apply the style to the charts.

  6. Store the map configurations in an associative array.

  7. Store the color range in a multidimensional array.

  8. Create a data object within the map configurations to assign the associative data array to it.

  9. Convert the final map configuration to JSON string.

  10. Create the map instance and set the following:

    • Set the map type as world. Each map is represented with a unique alias. For World map, the alias is world. Find the complete list of map types with their respective alias here.

    • Set the map id.

    • Set the width and height (in pixels).

    • Set the container for the map.

    • Set the dataFormat as JSON.

    • Embed the json data as the value of the dataSource.

  11. Finally, use a container using <div> to render the map.

The full code for the above sample is given below:


<?php
    // Include the ../src/fusioncharts.php file that contains functions to embed the charts.
    include("includes/fusioncharts.php");
?>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>FusionCharts | My First Map</title>

        // Include FusionCharts core file
        <script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script>

        // Include FusionCharts maps file
        <script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.maps.js"></script>

        // Include World map
        <script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/maps/fusioncharts.world.js"></script>

        // Include FusionCharts Theme file
        <script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
        <?php
        // Widget appearance configuration
        $arrMapConfig = array(
            "chart" => array(
                "caption" => "Average Annual Population Growth",
                "subcaption" => " 1955-2015",
                "numbersuffix" => "%",
                "includevalueinlabels" => "1",
                "labelsepchar" => ": ",
                "entityFillHoverColor" => "#FFF9C4",
                "theme" => "fusion"
            )
        );

        // Widget color range data
        $colorDataObj = array("minvalue" => "0", "code" => "#FFE0B2", "gradient" => "1",
        "color" => array(
            ["minValue" => "0", "maxValue" => "50", "code" => "#F2726F"],
            ["minValue" => "50", "maxValue" => "75", "code" => "#FFC533"],
            ["minValue" => "75", "maxValue" => "100", "code" => "#62B58F"]
        ));

        // Map data array
        $mapDataArray = array(
            ["NA", ".82", "1"],
            ["SA", "2.04", "1"],
            ["AS", "1.78", "1"],
            ["EU", ".40", "1"],
            ["AF", "2.58", "1"],
            ["AU", "1.30", "1"]
        );

        $mapData = array();

        for($i = 0; $i < count($mapDataArray); $i++) {
            array_push($mapData,array("id" => $mapDataArray[$i][0], "value" => $mapDataArray[$i][1], "showLabel" => $mapDataArray[$i][2]));
        }

        $arrMapConfig["colorRange"] = $colorDataObj;
        $arrMapConfig["data"] = $mapData;

        // JSON Encode the data to retrieve the string containing the JSON representation of the data in the array.
        $jsonEncodedData = json_encode($arrMapConfig);

        // Map object
        $Map = new FusionCharts("maps/world", "MyFirstMap" , "800", "500", "map-container", "json", $jsonEncodedData);

        // Render the Map
        $Map->render();
        ?>
        <center>
            div id="map-container">Map will render here!</div>
        </center>
    </body>
</html>



<?php
    // Include the ../src/fusioncharts.php file that contains functions to embed the charts.
    include("includes/fusioncharts.php");
?>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>FusionCharts | My First Map</title>

        // Include FusionCharts core file
        <script src="path/to/local/fusioncharts.js"></script>

        // Include FusionCharts maps file
        <script src="path/to/local/fusioncharts.maps.js"></script>

        // Include World map
        <script src="path/to/local/maps/fusioncharts.world.js"></script>

        // Include FusionCharts Theme file
        <script src="path/to/local/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
        <?php
        // Widget appearance configuration
        $arrMapConfig = array(
            "chart" => array(
                "caption" => "Average Annual Population Growth",
                "subcaption" => " 1955-2015",
                "numbersuffix" => "%",
                "includevalueinlabels" => "1",
                "labelsepchar" => ": ",
                "entityFillHoverColor" => "#FFF9C4",
                "theme" => "fusion"
            )
        );

        // Widget color range data
        $colorDataObj = array("minvalue" => "0", "code" => "#FFE0B2", "gradient" => "1",
        "color" => array(
            ["minValue" => "0", "maxValue" => "50", "code" => "#F2726F"],
            ["minValue" => "50", "maxValue" => "75", "code" => "#FFC533"],
            ["minValue" => "75", "maxValue" => "100", "code" => "#62B58F"]
        ));

        // Map data array
        $mapDataArray = array(
            ["NA", ".82", "1"],
            ["SA", "2.04", "1"],
            ["AS", "1.78", "1"],
            ["EU", ".40", "1"],
            ["AF", "2.58", "1"],
            ["AU", "1.30", "1"]
        );

        $mapData = array();

        for($i = 0; $i < count($mapDataArray); $i++) {
            array_push($mapData,array("id" => $mapDataArray[$i][0], "value" => $mapDataArray[$i][1], "showLabel" => $mapDataArray[$i][2]));
        }

        $arrMapConfig["colorRange"] = $colorDataObj;
        $arrMapConfig["data"] = $mapData;

        // JSON Encode the data to retrieve the string containing the JSON representation of the data in the array.
        $jsonEncodedData = json_encode($arrMapConfig);

        // Map object
        $Map = new FusionCharts("maps/world", "MyFirstMap" , "800", "500", "map-container", "json", $jsonEncodedData);

        // Render the Map
        $Map->render();
        ?>
        <center>
            div id="map-container">Map will render here!</div>
        </center>
    </body>
</html>

That's it! You first map with PHP is ready.

Render other maps

To reduce the size of the package FusionCharts comes with only two maps, i.e., the World map and the USA map. However, FusionCharts provide 1600+ maps for you to explore. Download the map files separately if you want to save them locally.

Let's create a map of California to show the "Web visits for a particular month" as shown below:

FusionCharts will load here..

To render the above map, the following code is used:


<?php
    // Include the ../src/fusioncharts.php file that contains functions to embed the charts.
    include("../includes/fusioncharts.php");
?>
<html>
    <head>
        // Include FusionCharts core file
        <script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script>

        // Include FusionCharts map file
        <script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.maps.js"></script>

        // Include california map
        <script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/maps/fusioncharts.california.js"></script>

        //Include FusionCharts Theme file
        <script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
        <?php
        // Map appearance configuration
        $arrMapConfig = array(
            "chart" => array(
                "animation"=> "0",
                "showbevel"=> "0",
                "usehovercolor"=> "1",
                "showlegend"=> "1",
                "legendposition"=> "BOTTOM",
                "legendborderalpha"=> "0",
                "legendbordercolor"=> "ffffff",
                "legendallowdrag"=> "0",
                "legendshadow"=> "0",
                "caption"=> "Website Visits for the month of March 2018",
                "connectorcolor"=> "000000",
                "fillalpha"=> "80",
                "hovercolor"=> "CCCCCC",
                "theme"=> "fusion"
            )
        );

 // Map color range data
        $colorDataObj = array("minvalue" => "0", "code" => "#FFE0B2", "gradient" => "1",
        "color" => array(
            ["maxvalue"=> "2500", "code"=> "f8bd19"], ["maxvalue"=> "5000", "code"=> "6baa01"]
        ));

        // Map data array
        $mapDataArray = array(
            ["001", "2834", "1"],
            ["003", "3182", "1"],
            ["005", "3280", "1"],
            ["007", "911", "1"],
            ["009", "292", "1"],
            ["011", "530", "1"],
            ["013", "2515", "1"],
            ["015", "728", "1"],
            ["017", "1974", "1"],
            ["019", "848", "1"],
            ["021", "3278", "1"],
            ["023", "4463", "1"],
            ["025", "1198", "1"],
            ["027", "378", "1"],
            ["029", "2610", "1"],
            ["031", "1200", "1"],
            ["033", "3820", "1"],
            ["035", "940", "1"],
            ["037", "3416", "1"],
            ["039", "4004", "1"],
            ["041", "1604", "1"],
            ["043", "4011", "1"],
            ["045", "3203", "1"],
            ["047", "3775", "1"],
            ["049", "2721", "1"],
            ["051", "3417", "1"],
            ["053", "1530", "1"],
            ["055", "412", "1"],
            ["057", "3434", "1"],
            ["059", "1670", "1"],
            ["061", "1274", "1"],
            ["063", "4339", "1"],
            ["065", "2073", "1"],
            ["067", "1018", "1"],
            ["069", "3967", "1"],
            ["071", "3401", "1"],
            ["073", "3307", "1"],
            ["075", "1938", "1"],
            ["077", "489", "1"],
            ["079", "3207", "1"],
            ["081", "2295", "1"],
            ["083", "2747", "1"],
            ["085", "1114", "1"],
            ["087", "3400", "1"],
            ["089", "784", "1"],
            ["091", "1673", "1"],
            ["093", "4274", "1"],
            ["095", "4509", "1"],
            ["097", "3862", "1"],
            ["099", "1356", "1"],
            ["101", "4126", "1"],
            ["103", "1314", "1"],
            ["105", "1807", "1"],
            ["107", "4026", "1"],
            ["109", "3456", "1"],
            ["111", "1393", "1"],
            ["113", "1500", "1"],
            ["115", "2218", "1"]

 );

        $mapData = array();

        for($i = 0; $i < count($mapDataArray); $i++) {
            array_push($mapData,array("id" => $mapDataArray[$i][0], "value" => $mapDataArray[$i][1], "showLabel" => $mapDataArray[$i][2]));
        }

        $arrMapConfig["colorRange"] = $colorDataObj;
        $arrMapConfig["data"] = $mapData;

        // JSON Encode the data to retrieve the string containing the JSON representation of the data in the array.
        $jsonEncodedData = json_encode($arrMapConfig);

        // Map object
        $Map = new FusionCharts("maps/california", "MyFirstMap" , "800", "500", "map-container", "json", $jsonEncodedData);

        // Render the Map
        $Map->render();
        ?>
        <center>
            <div id="map-container">Map will render here!</div>
        </center>
    </body>
</html>



<?php
    // Include the ../src/fusioncharts.php file that contains functions to embed the charts.
    include("../includes/fusioncharts.php");
?>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>FusionCharts | California Map</title>

        // Include FusionCharts core file
        <script src="path/to/local/fusioncharts.js"></script>

        // Include FusionCharts maps file
        <script src="path/to/local/fusioncharts.maps.js"></script>

        // Include California map
        <script src="path/to/local/maps/fusioncharts.california.js"></script>

        // Include FusionCharts Theme file
        <script src="path/to/local/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
        <?php
        // Widget appearance configuration
        $arrMapConfig = array(
            "chart" => array(
                "animation"=> "0",
                "showbevel"=> "0",
                "usehovercolor"=> "1",
                "showlegend"=> "1",
                "legendposition"=> "BOTTOM",
                "legendborderalpha"=> "0",
                "legendbordercolor"=> "ffffff",
                "legendallowdrag"=> "0",
                "legendshadow"=> "0",
                "caption"=> "Website Visits for the month of March 2018",
                "connectorcolor"=> "000000",
                "fillalpha"=> "80",
                "hovercolor"=> "CCCCCC",
                "theme"=> "fusion"
            )
        );

        // Widget color range data
        $colorDataObj = array("minvalue" => "0", "code" => "#FFE0B2", "gradient" => "1",
        "color" => array(
            ["maxvalue"=> "2500", "code"=> "f8bd19"], ["maxvalue"=> "5000", "code"=> "6baa01"]
        ));

        // Map data array
        $mapDataArray = array(
            ["001", "2834", "1"],
            ["003", "3182", "1"],
            ["005", "3280", "1"],
            ["007", "911", "1"],
            ["009", "292", "1"],
            ["011", "530", "1"],
            ["013", "2515", "1"],
            ["015", "728", "1"],
            ["017", "1974", "1"],
            ["019", "848", "1"],
            ["021", "3278", "1"],
            ["023", "4463", "1"],
            ["025", "1198", "1"],
            ["027", "378", "1"],
            ["029", "2610", "1"],
            ["031", "1200", "1"],
            ["033", "3820", "1"],
            ["035", "940", "1"],
            ["037", "3416", "1"],
            ["039", "4004", "1"],
            ["041", "1604", "1"],
            ["043", "4011", "1"],
            ["045", "3203", "1"],
            ["047", "3775", "1"],
            ["049", "2721", "1"],
            ["051", "3417", "1"],
            ["053", "1530", "1"],
            ["055", "412", "1"],
            ["057", "3434", "1"],
            ["059", "1670", "1"],
            ["061", "1274", "1"],
            ["063", "4339", "1"],
            ["065", "2073", "1"],
            ["067", "1018", "1"],
            ["069", "3967", "1"],
            ["071", "3401", "1"],
            ["073", "3307", "1"],
            ["075", "1938", "1"],
            ["077", "489", "1"],
            ["079", "3207", "1"],
            ["081", "2295", "1"],
            ["083", "2747", "1"],
            ["085", "1114", "1"],
            ["087", "3400", "1"],
            ["089", "784", "1"],
            ["091", "1673", "1"],
            ["093", "4274", "1"],
            ["095", "4509", "1"],
            ["097", "3862", "1"],
            ["099", "1356", "1"],
            ["101", "4126", "1"],
            ["103", "1314", "1"],
            ["105", "1807", "1"],
            ["107", "4026", "1"],
            ["109", "3456", "1"],
            ["111", "1393", "1"],
            ["113", "1500", "1"],
            ["115", "2218", "1"]

 );

        $mapData = array();

        for($i = 0; $i < count($mapDataArray); $i++) {
            array_push($mapData,array("id" => $mapDataArray[$i][0], "value" => $mapDataArray[$i][1], "showLabel" => $mapDataArray[$i][2]));
        }

        $arrMapConfig["colorRange"] = $colorDataObj;
        $arrMapConfig["data"] = $mapData;

        // JSON Encode the data to retrieve the string containing the JSON representation of the data in the array.
        $jsonEncodedData = json_encode($arrMapConfig);

        // Map object
        $Map = new FusionCharts("maps/california", "MyFirstMap" , "800", "500", "map-container", "json", $jsonEncodedData);

        // Render the Map
        $Map->render();
        ?>
        <center>
            <div id="map-container">Map will render here!</div>
        </center>
    </body>
</html>

That's it! The California map is ready.

Problem rendering the chart?

In case there is an error, and you are unable to see the chart, check for the following:

  • If you are getting a JavaScript error on your page, check your browser console for the exact error and fix accordingly. If you're unable to solve it, click here to get in touch with our support team.

  • If the chart does not show up at all, but there are no JavaScript errors, check if the FusionCharts Suite XT JavaScript library has loaded correctly. You can use developer tools within your browser to see if fusioncharts.js was loaded.

  • If you get a Loading Data or Error in loading data message, check whether your JSON data structure is correct, or there are conflicts related to quotation marks in your code.