Create a Chart in React Native using 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 and lightweight React Native component which provides bindings for FusionCharts. The react-native-fusioncharts component allows you to easily add rich and interactive charts to any React Native project.

In this page, we'll see how to install FusionCharts and render a chart using the react-native-fusioncharts component.

Installation

Install FusionCharts and the react-native-fusioncharts component using any of the following methods:

Step 1: To install fusioncharts and the react-native-fusioncharts component via npm follow the steps below:
1. Install the react-native-fusioncharts module

    $ npm install react-native-fusioncharts --save
2. Install the fusioncharts JS files

    $ npm install fusioncharts --save
Step 2: To setup the react-native-fusioncharts component for Android, follow the steps given below:
  • Create a folder named assets under android/app/src/main directory if it doesn't exist.
  • Copy FusionCharts library files (node_modules/fusioncharts folder) in the assets folder.
  • Create a fusioncharts.html file in assets folder. Include the FusionCharts library files in fusioncharts.html file using <script> tag.
    • 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

<head>
    <title>FusionCharts</title>
    <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />

    <style type="text/css">
        body,
        html {
            margin: 0;
            padding: 0;
            overflow: hidden;
            font-size: 13px;
        }

        #chart-container {
            width: 100%;
            height: 100%;
            top: 0;
            left: 0;
            right: 0;
            bottom: 0;
            position: absolute;
            user-select: none;
            -webkit-user-select: none;
            overflow: hidden;
        }

        #loading-text {
            position: absolute;
            top: 50%;
            left: 50%;
            transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
            -webkit-transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
            user-select: none;
            -webkit-user-select: none;
        }
    </style>
</head>

<body>
    <div id="chart-container">
        <div id="loading-text">
            Chart is loading...
        </div>
    </div>

    <script type='text/javascript'>
        "use strict";
        (function() {
            var a = Promise.resolve(),
                b = {},
                c = {};
            (function d() {
                var f = function() {
                    function g() {
                        return Math.floor(65536 * (1 + Math.random())).toString(16).substring(1)
                    }
                    return g() + g() + "-" + g() + "-" + g() + "-" + g() + "-" + g() + g() + g()
                };
                window.webViewBridge = {
                    send: function send(g, h, i, j) {
                        i = i || function() {}, j = j || function() {};
                        var k = {
                                targetFunc: g,
                                data: h || {},
                                msgId: f()
                            },
                            l = JSON.stringify(k);
                        a = a.then(function() {
                            return new Promise(function(m, n) {
                                b[k.msgId] = {
                                    resolve: m,
                                    reject: n
                                }, c[k.msgId] = {
                                    onsuccess: i,
                                    onerror: j
                                }, window.postMessage(l)
                            })
                        }).catch(function() {})
                    }
                }, window.document.addEventListener("message", function(g) {
                    var h;
                    try {
                        h = JSON.parse(g.data)
                    } catch (i) {
                        return
                    }
                    b[h.msgId] && (b[h.msgId].resolve(), delete b[h.msgId]), h.args && c[h.msgId] && (h.isSuccessfull ? c[h.msgId].onsuccess.apply(null, h.args) : c[h.msgId].onerror.apply(null, h.args), delete c[h.msgId])
                })
            })()
        })();
    </script>

    <!-- Include the required FusionCharts modules -->
    <script type='text/javascript' src="fusioncharts/fusioncharts.js"></script>
    <script type='text/javascript' src="fusioncharts/fusioncharts.charts.js"></script>
    <script type='text/javascript' src="fusioncharts/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>

</body>

</html>
    To include the specific chart types, individually add the following files using <script> tag:
    1. PowerCharts - fusioncharts/fusioncharts.powercharts
    2. Widgets - fusioncharts/fusioncharts.widgets
    3. Gantt - fusioncharts/fusioncharts.gantt
    4. Treemap - fusioncharts/fusioncharts.treemap
    5. Zoomscatter - fusioncharts/fusioncharts.zoomscatter
    6. Zoomline - fusioncharts/fusioncharts.zoomline
    7. Overlapped Bar - fusioncharts/fusioncharts.overlappedbar2d
    8. Overlapped Column - fusioncharts/fusioncharts.overlappedcolumn2d
  • Set libraryPath property to the FusionCharts component.
    • 
<FusionCharts 
......
libraryPath={{ uri: 'file:///android_asset/fusioncharts.html' }}/>
  • Add the following script in Application's package.json file to bundle your assets when you want to generate a signed APK.
    • 
"scripts": {
    ......
    "clean:build:android": "rm -rf android/app/build",
    "prod:android": "npm run clean:build:android  && react-native bundle --platform android --dev false --entry-file index.js --bundle-output android/app/src/main/assets/index.android.bundle --assets-dest android/app/src/main/res"
},
  • Run the following command before genarating the signed APK:
    • 
$ npm run prod:android
Step 1: To install fusioncharts and the react-fusioncharts component via npm follow the steps below:
1. Install the react-native-fusioncharts module

    $ npm install react-native-fusioncharts --save
2. Install the fusioncharts JS files

    $ npm install fusioncharts --save
Step 2: To setup the react-native-fusioncharts component for iOS, follow the steps given below:
  • Create a folder named assets in your project root if it doesn't exist.
  • Copy FusionCharts library files in the assets folder.
  • Create a fusioncharts-tpl.html file in assets folder. Include the FusionCharts library files in fusioncharts.html file using <script> tag.
    • 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

<head>
    <!-- Include the required FusionCharts modules -->
    <script type='text/javascript' src="fusioncharts/fusioncharts.js"></script>
    <script type='text/javascript' src="fusioncharts/fusioncharts.charts.js"></script>
    <script type='text/javascript' src="fusioncharts/themes/fusioncharts.theme.fusion.js"></script>
</head>

<body></body>

</html>
  • Add a build"assets script in Application's package.json file
    • 
"scripts": {
    ......
    "build:assets": "fc-build-assets --fc-template ./assets/fusioncharts-tpl.html --fc-library ./assets/fusioncharts"
},
  • The --fc-library ./assets/fusioncharts is required when you copy FusionCharts library files in your assets folder.
    Note: fc-build-assets is a utility binary provided by react-native-fusioncharts to package the FusionCharts modules(.js files) referenced in template(.html file) as needed by the React Native iOS build process.
  • Run the following command before running the application:
    • 
$ npm run build:assets

That completes the installation of FusionCharts and the react-native-fusioncharts component.

Create your first chart

Let's create a Column 2D chart using the react-native-fusioncharts component showing the "Countries With Most Oil Reserves".

FusionCharts Suite has 95+ chart types for you to explore. Find the complete list of chart types here .

The Column 2D chart is shown below:

FusionCharts will load here..

The data for the above chart is shown in the table below:

Country No. of Oil Reserves
Venezuela 290
Saudi 260
Canada 180
Iran 140
Russia 115
UAE 100
US 30
China 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 this example, we will use the JSON format, 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"
    }]
}

Different types of charts in FusionCharts expect different JSON formats, based on their grouping. Explore different JSON formats, for example, single-series , multi-series , combination charts.

In the above JSON data:

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

  • Specify the label and value of each column within the data array.

Both the chart object and the data array contain a set of key-value pairs known as attributes. These attributes are used to set the functional and cosmetic properties of the chart.

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

Render the chart

To render the chart, follow the steps below:

  1. Include react

  2. Include react-native-fusioncharts component

  3. Define the chart configuration in a JSON.

    • Set the chart type as column2d. Each chart type is represented with a unique chart alias. For Column 2D chart, the alias is column2d. Find the complete list of chart types with their respective alias here .
    • Set the width and height (in pixels).
    • Set the dataFormat as JSON.
    • Embed the json data as the value of the dataSource.

  4. Specify the location of fusioncharts.html for Android and iOS.

  5. Add style to the container of the chart.

The JavaScript code to create a chart in Android and iOS is same.

Copy the following code to app.js file.

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { Platform, StyleSheet, Text, View } from "react-native";
import FusionCharts from "react-native-fusioncharts";

export default class PlainColumn2D extends Component {
    constructor(props) {
        super(props);

        this.state = {
            type: "column2d",
            width: "700",
            height: "400",
            dataFormat: "json",
            dataSource: {
                "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"
                }]
            }
        };
        this.libraryPath = Platform.select({
            // Specify fusioncharts.html file location
            android: {
                uri: "file:///android_asset/fusioncharts.html"
            },
            ios: require("./assets/fusioncharts.html")
        });
    }

    render() {
        return (
            <View style={styles.container}>
                <Text style={styles.header}>A Column 2D Chart</Text>
                <View style={styles.chartContainer}>
                <FusionCharts
                type={this.state.type}
                width={this.state.width}
                height={this.state.height}
                dataFormat={this.state.dataFormat}
                dataSource={this.state.dataSource}
                libraryPath={this.libraryPath} // set the libraryPath property
                />
                </View>
            </View>
        );
    }
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
    container: {
        flex: 1,
        padding: 10
    },
    header: {
        fontWeight: "bold",
        fontSize: 20,
        textAlign: "center",
        paddingBottom: 10
    },
    chartContainer: {
        height: 400,
        borderColor: "#000",
        borderWidth: 1
    }
});

That's it! Your first chart using react-native-fusioncharts is ready.

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