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Using XML data embedded in HTML page

In our previous examples, we had created charts by providing chart data through an external XML file. Here, we'll show you how to embed the XML directly into an HTML page.

In our previous examples, we had used the JavaScript function setXMLUrl() to provide URL of the XML file to the chart. Hence, the term Data URL method is used for referring to the technique used earlier.

Here, we will use the setXMLData() function which takes XML embedded as string from the JavaScript. We call it Data String method.

Existing users : You might be wondering what happened to the functions like setDataURL() and setDataXML() which you have already been using in your application. Yes - although deprecated, these will continue to work without any problem.
Create a copy of weekly-sales.html and save it as weekly-sales-xml-embed.html. Next, modify the code as shown below:

 
<html>
  <head>
    <title>My First chart using FusionCharts XT - 
          using XML data embedded in the page</title>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="FusionCharts/FusionCharts.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="chartContainer">FusionCharts XT will load here</div>

    <script type="text/javascript"><!--

      var myChart = new FusionCharts("FusionCharts/Column3D.swf", 
            "myChartId", "400", "300", "0");

      myChart.setXMLData("<chart caption='Weekly Sales Summary' xAxisName='Week' " +
        "yAxisName='Sales' numberPrefix='$'>" +
          "<set label='Week 1' value='14400' />" +
          "<set label='Week 2' value='19600' />" +
          "<set label='Week 3' value='24000' />" +
          "<set label='Week 4' value='15700' />" +
        "</chart>");

      myChart.render("chartContainer");

    // -->
    </script>

  </body>
</html>

See it live!

In the above code, we have provided the entire XML data as a string inside the code itself and passed it to the chart using the setXMLData() method.

There are certain pointers to be kept in mind when using the Data String method:

  • If you use double quotation marks for specifying string parameters in JavaScript, use single quotes to specify attribute values in the XML. Else, it will result in a syntax error.
  • If an XML attribute has single quotation mark (') or double quotation marks (") as part of its value, encode them as XML entities. The encoded form of single quotation mark (') is &apos; and the encoded form of double quotation marks (") is &quot;.
  • If you have special characters like &, <, and > in your XML, you must encode them as &amp;, &lt; and &gt; (respectively) in your XML String.

Existing Users: Prior to v3.2, while using this method, you will need to encode various characters. Since v3.2, except for a few characters listed in Using Currency Symbols and Using Special Punctuation pages (from Advanced Charting > Using Special Characters section), no character is required to be encoded while using this process. The new FusionCharts JavaScript class takes care of everything.