Setting Data Source Using URL

FusionCharts lets you pass the complete JSON/XML chart data as a static string to the dataSource attribute. Alternatively, you can also save the chart data in a .json or .xml file and then pass the relative URL of this file as value to the dataSource attribute.

The only difference between the two methods is the value that is passed to the dataFormat attribute. For the first method, the dataFormat attribute takes json or xml as values, depending on the chart data. For the second method, the values will be jsonurl and xmlurl.

This article explains how you can set the chart data using the URL of the corresponding file using FusionCharts ASP.NET C# & VB wrapper.

Load data using JSON as URL

Let's build the same revenue chart which we built in the first example using JSON, and use a .json file as the data source.

{
    "chart": {
        "caption": "Countries With Most Oil Reserves [2017-18]",
        "subCaption": "In MMbbl = One Million barrels",
        "xAxisName": "Country",
        "yAxisName": "Reserves (MMbbl)",
        "numberSuffix": "K",
        "theme": "fusion"
    },
    "data": [
        {
            "label": "Venezuela",
            "value": "290"
        },
        {
            "label": "Saudi",
            "value": "260"
        },
        {
            "label": "Canada",
            "value": "180"
        },
        {
            "label": "Iran",
            "value": "140"
        },
        {
            "label": "Russia",
            "value": "115"
        },
        {
            "label": "UAE",
            "value": "100"
        },
        {
            "label": "US",
            "value": "30"
        },
        {
            "label": "China",
            "value": "30"
        }
    ]
}

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

The JSON representation for the above table looks as shown below:

{
    // Chart Configuration
    "chart": {
        "caption": "Countries With Most Oil Reserves [2017-18]",
        "subCaption": "In MMbbl = One Million barrels",
        "xAxisName": "Country",
        "yAxisName": "Reserves (MMbbl)",
        "numberSuffix": "K",
        "theme": "fusion",
    },
    // Chart Data
    "data": [{
        "label": "Venezuela",
        "value": "290"
    }, {
        "label": "Saudi",
        "value": "260"
    }, {
        "label": "Canada",
        "value": "180"
    }, {
        "label": "Iran",
        "value": "140"
    }, {
        "label": "Russia",
        "value": "115"
    }, {
        "label": "UAE",
        "value": "100"
    }, {
        "label": "US",
        "value": "30"
    }, {
        "label": "China",
        "value": "30"
    }]
}

Copy this into a file, name it oilReserves.json, and store it in the same folder as your page.

If you are using multilingual characters in your JSON, make sure that you save the JSON data with UTF-8 encoding.

The consolidated code for the above chart is shown below:

using System;
using FusionCharts.Charts;

public partial class JsonUrlData : System.Web.UI.Page
{
    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        //data url
        string jsonDataUrl = "oilReserves.json";
        // create chart instance
        // parameter
        // chrat type, chart id, chart widh, chart height, data format, data source
        Chart columnChart = new Chart("column2d", "first_chart", "700", "400", "jsonurl", jsonDataUrl);
        //render chart
        Literal1.Text = columnChart.Render();
    }
}

Imports FusionCharts.Charts
Partial Class JsonDataUrl
Inherits System.Web.UI.Page

Protected Sub Page_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
'store chart  data url as  string
Dim jsonDataUrl As String
jsonDataUrl = "oilReserves.json"
'create gauge instance
'chart type, chart id, width, height, data format, data source as url
Dim columnChart As New Chart("column2d", "columnchart", "700", "400", "jsonurl", jsonDataUrl)
'render gauge
Literal1.Text = columnChart.Render()
End Sub
End Class

The HTML template for aspx file is shown below:

<%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="JsonUrlData.aspx.cs" Inherits="JsonUrlData" %>

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns=" http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >

<head runat="server">
    <link href="../Styles/SampleStyleSheet.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <title>FusionCharts | Chart using data from JSON URL</title>
</head>

<body>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
        <h3>Chart using data from JSON URL</h3>
        <div>
            <asp:Literal ID="Literal1" runat="server"></asp:Literal>
        </div>
        <div><span>
                <asp:HyperLink id="hyperlink1" NavigateUrl="../Default.aspx" Text="Go Back" runat="server" /></span></div>
    </form>
</body>

</html>

<%@ Page Language="VB" AutoEventWireup="false" CodeFile="JsonDataUrl.aspx.vb" Inherits="JsonDataUrl" %>

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns=" http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<head runat="server">
    <link href="../Styles/SampleStyleSheet.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <title>FusionCharts | Chart using data from JSON URL</title>
</head>
<body>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script>
   <script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
        <h3>Chart using data from JSON URL</h3>
        <div>
             <asp:Literal ID="Literal1" runat="server"></asp:Literal>
        </div>
        <div><span><asp:HyperLink id="hyperlink1" NavigateUrl="../Default.aspx" Text="Go Back" runat="server"/></span></div>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

The above chart has been rendered using the following steps:

1. Import and resolve the dependencies like System, and FusionCharts.Charts.

2. Define a class CommonThemeUsage inherited from System.Web.UI.Page. Correspondingly, in the .aspx file, CommonThemeUsage is inherited.

3. Within the class CommonThemeUsage, define Page_Load():

   • Declare a string jsonData and use it to assign the chart configuration as a JSON string.
   • Create an instance of Chart (defined within FusionCharts.Charts), and assign it the necessary attributes of a Column 2D chart. See the source code comments for the attributes used. Of particular importance is the attribute chartType, which in this case is column2d. Find the complete list of chart types with their respective alias here .
   • Render the chart using the [instanceName].Render() method. Correspondingly, in the .aspx file, include the necessary chart and theme libraries modules using the <script> tags, like fusioncharts.js, fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js (for this case, include all theme files), followed by some JavaScript functions and radio buttons, and finally within a <form><div> render the chart.
   • Set the dataFormat as JSON.
   • Embed the json data as the value of dataSource.

4. To set the datasource using URL:

   • Set the value of the dataFormat to jsonurl.
   • Set the static URL to dataSource to render the above chart.

When rendering your charts locally (without a web server, even if on the localhost), you will not be able to load data from XML or JSON files present on your hard-drive. This is due to security restrictions enforced by most modern browsers.

Load data using XML as URL

The XML representation for the above chart looks as shown below:

<chart caption='Countries With Most Oil Reserves [2017-18] ' subcaption='In MMbbl = One Million barrels ' xaxisname='Country ' yaxisname='Reserves (MMbbl) ' numberprefix='K ' theme='fusion '>
    <set label='Venezuela ' value='290 ' />
    <set label='Saudi ' value='260 ' />
    <set label='Canada ' value='180 ' />
    <set label='Iran ' value='140 ' />
    <set label='Russia ' value='115 ' />
    <set label='UAE ' value='100 ' />
    <set label='US ' value='30 ' />
    <set label='China ' value='30 ' />
</chart>

Copy this into a file called oilReserves.xml and store it in the same folder as your HTML page.

If you are using multilingual characters in your XML, make sure you save the XML data with UTF-8 encoding.

The full code of the above sample is:

using System;
using FusionCharts.Charts;

public partial class XmlDataUrl : System.Web.UI.Page
{
    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        //data url
        string xmlDataUrl = "oilReserves.xml";
        // create chart instance
        // parameter
        // chrat type, chart id, chart widh, chart height, data format, data source
        Chart columnChart = new Chart("column2d", "first_chart", "700", "400", "xmlurl", xmlDataUrl);
        //render chart
        Literal1.Text = columnChart.Render();
    }
}

Imports FusionCharts.Charts
Partial Class XmlDataUrl
Inherits System.Web.UI.Page
Protected Sub Page_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
'store chart  data url as  string
Dim xmlDataUrl As String
xmlDataUrl = "oilReserves.xml"
'create gauge instance
'chart type, chart id, width, height, data format, data source as url
Dim columnChart As New Chart("column2d", "columnchart", "700", "400", "xmlurl", xmlDataUrl)
'render gauge
Literal1.Text = columnChart.Render()
End Sub
End Class

The HTML template for aspx file is shown below:

<%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="XmlDataUrl.aspx.cs" Inherits="XmlDataUrl" %>

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns=" http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<head runat="server">
    <link href="../Styles/SampleStyleSheet.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <title>FusionCharts | Chart using data from XML URL</title>
</head>
<body>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script>
   <script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
        <h3>Chart using data from XML URL</h3>
        <div>
             <asp:Literal ID="Literal1" runat="server"></asp:Literal>
        </div>
        <div><span><asp:HyperLink id="hyperlink1" NavigateUrl="../Default.aspx" Text="Go Back" runat="server"/></span></div>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

<%@ Page Language="VB" AutoEventWireup="false" CodeFile="XmlDataUrl.aspx.vb" Inherits="XmlDataUrl" %>

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns=" http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >

<head runat="server">
    <link href="../Styles/SampleStyleSheet.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <title>FusionCharts | Chart using data from XML URL</title>
</head>

<body>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/fusioncharts.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.fusioncharts.com/fusioncharts/latest/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
        <h3>Chart using data from XML URL</h3>
        <div>
            <asp:Literal ID="Literal1" runat="server"></asp:Literal>
        </div>
        <div><span>
                <asp:HyperLink id="hyperlink1" NavigateUrl="../Default.aspx" Text="Go Back" runat="server" /></span></div>
    </form>
</body>

</html>

The above chart has been rendered using the following steps:

1. Import and resolve the dependencies like System, and FusionCharts.Charts.

2. Define a class CommonThemeUsage inherited from System.Web.UI.Page. Correspondingly, in the .aspx file, CommonThemeUsage is inherited.

3. Within the class CommonThemeUsage, define Page_Load():

   • Declare a string jsonData and use it to assign the chart configuration as a XML string.
   • Create an instance of Chart (defined within FusionCharts.Charts), and assign it the necessary attributes of a Column 2D chart. See the source code comments for the attributes used. Of particular importance is the attribute chartType, which in this case is column2d. Find the complete list of chart types with their respective alias here .
   • Render the chart using the [instanceName].Render() method. Correspondingly, in the .aspx file, include the necessary chart and theme libraries modules using the <script> tags, like fusioncharts.js, fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js (for this case, include all theme files), followed by some JavaScript functions and radio buttons, and finally within a <form><div> render the chart.
   • Set the dataFormat as XML.
   • Embed the json data as the value of dataSource.

4. To set the datasource using URL:

   • Set the value of the dataFormat to xmlurl.
   • Set the static URL to dataSource to render the above chart.