Strip Chart
Strip Charts are ideal for displaying time based
data that is periodically updated.
Some examples are performance meters, currency tracking, stock tracking,
seismograph, and so on. The Strip Chart is designed to make implementing
this type of chart easy, fast, and Internet accessible.
The Strip Chart is based on a certain number of "slots" in
the X axis. The slots are equally divided into the available graphing
space and represent a particular point in time. The rightmost slot contains
the newest data, and the leftmost slot has the oldest displayed data.
Data in multiple data sets is added synchronously, with one point being
extracted from each dataset as each new slot is added.
Note that data is only displayed in the graph after the Update parameter
(described below) is passed.
BarStyle
BarStyle = STACK|GROUP;
BarStyle defines the behavior of data sets whose points are drawn with
the VRECTANGLE symbol. A data set that uses a symbol type of VRECTANGLE
will draw a bar from the data value to the baseline. When multiple data
series use the VRECTANGLE symbol, BarStyle describes how the bars in the
same slot will be drawn. A value of STACK will stack bars in the same
slot on top of each other, a value of GROUP will place the bars in the
same slot next to each other. The default value is GROUP.
DataSets
DataSets = (dataset1 tuple), (dataset2 tuple),...;
Defines a list of dataset tuples with the following
attributes in each tuple:
| "Name" |
Name assigned to this data set |
| SymColor |
Symbol Color |
| SymType |
Symbol Type (NONE, CIRCLE, SQUARE, DIAMOND, CROSS,TARGET,
TRIANGLEDOWN, TRIANGLEUP,VRECTANGLE) |
| SymSize |
Symbol Size (in pixels) |
| SymStyle |
Symbol Style (FILLED, OUTLINED) |
| LineType |
Line Type (NONE, SOLID, DOTTED, DASHED, DOTDASH)
|
| LineWidth |
Line Width (in pixels) |
| LineColor |
Line Color |
| FillColor |
FillColor |
By default, the Name and SymColor will be used
as items in the Legend.
If any of the symbol attributes are undefined,
default values will be used.
If the LineType attribute is defined, the data
symbols in the given data set will be connected by line segments using
the given line attributes.
A Symbol Type of VRECTANGLE will draw a bar
from the data value to the baseline of the chart. The parameter BarStyle
determines how multiple data sets that use the VRECTANGLE symbol will display
points in the same slot (GROUP or STACK).
At most 50 datasets may be displayed.
If a color is not specified in the vector,
then the previously specified color will be used. If the color is specified
as "null", then a default color will be chosen from the color
table. (See the ColorTable parameter.)
If a line color or fill color is assigned "null",
then the line or area fill will not be drawn.
DataAxis
DataAxis = (XAxis1, YAxis1), (XAxis2, YAxis2),...;
The XAxis and YAxis attributes define the specific
axis to be used when mapping the X and Y values respectively for each
data set defined. The XAxis attribute may be set to BOTTOM or TOP, while
the YAxis may be set to LEFT or RIGHT.
DataSet[1–50]
DataSet[1–50] = y1, y2, y3,...;
Defines a list of y values for each dataset defined
by the DataSets parameter. This parameter will cause data to be "preloaded"
into the strip chart. If this parameter is sent after the strip chart
has been started, the data will be appended to the data queue and that
number of new points (including any that may already be in the data
queue) will be displayed on the next update.
LineSymbol
LineSymbol = (type1, size1, style1, borderColor1,
borderWidth1, image1,symbolColor,shadowWidth),...
This parameter specifies the symbols to be
displayed for one or more line sets. That is, the first tuple defines
the symbol for the first line set, and so on. The following attribute
values are supported:
| Type |
Type of symbol to be displayed,
including:
NONE, CIRCLE, SQUARE, DIAMOND, CROSS,TARGET
TRIANGLEDOWN, TRIANGLEUP, IMAGE
If NONE is specified, then no symbol
is displayed. If IMAGE is specified, then the image attribute
will be used to load a GIF image for the symbol.
|
| Size |
Specifies the size of the symbol
in pixels. This attribute is ignored for IMAGE symbols. |
| Style |
Specifies how the symbol should
be drawn, including FILLED, OUTLINED, or BOTH. If FILLED is specified,
the symbol is filled with the line set color. If OUTLINED is specified,
only the outline is drawn, using the line set color. If BOTH is
specified, then the symbol is filled with the line set color and
the outline is drawn using the borderColor. |
| BorderColor |
The color used when drawing the outline
of a symbol with style BOTH. |
| BorderWidth |
The width of the outline for a symbol
with style OUTLINED or BOTH. |
| Image |
The URL of a GIF image file to be
used as the symbol when the type attribute is set to IMAGE. Transparent
images are supported (GIF89 format). |
| SymbolColor |
The color when used for drawing a symbol.
|
| ShadowWidth |
The size of the shadow drawn behind the symbol. Any number
other than 0 causes NetCharts to choose a shadow size based on the size of the symbol.
Specifying a value of 0 suppresses the shadow.
|
This parameter is processed AFTER the deprecated
DataSets parameter (which included symbol attributes) and any attributes
specified in that parameter will be overridden by those specified in
this parameter.
LineStyle
LineStyle = (type1, width1, color1, fillColor1),...;
This parameter specifies the line style to be displayed
for one or more line sets. That is, the first tuple defines the symbol
for the first line set, and so on. The following attribute values are
supported:
| Type |
Specifies the style of the
line to be drawn, as follows:
NONE, SOLID, DOTTED, DASHED, DOTDASH
If NONE is specified, then no line is drawn
between the symbols in the given line set.
|
| Width |
The width of the line in pixels.
Default width is 1. |
| Color |
The color of the line. Default color
is the color of the line set itself. |
| FillColor |
If this attribute is not "null",
then the area under the lineset will be filled with the given color.
|
| LineType |
NORMAL - Normal line
FIT - Draws a spline curve approximation
BOTH - Draws both a normal line and a spline curve approximation
|
LineValueLabel
LineValueLabel = ("mode", color, "font name", font size, angle, interiorAlignment);
Defines
the label value to be displayed near each point in a lineset.
Valid mode values are
"ON" and "OFF", the default value is "ON".
example: ("ON",black,"Helvetica",18,0);
This parameter was introduced in NetCharts
4.0.
LineValueLabelBox
LineValueLabelBox = (color,bordertype,borderwidth);
example:(grey,RAISED,3);
Defines
the label box to be displayed near each point in a lineset.
Values are as follows:
| Color |
The color of the region.
If an image attribute is also defined, this color is drawn first,
followed by the image, allowing this color to show through any
transparent parts of the image. |
| BorderType |
The following border
styles are supported:
NONE - No border
BOX - Simple Box outline
SHADOW - Shadow border
RAISED - Raised border
RECESS - Recessed border
When the BOX and SHADOW styles are specified,
the border color will be black. When the RAISED and RECESS styles
are specified, the border color will be chosen based on the region
color. |
| BorderWidth |
This attribute defines
the width of the border in pixels.
|
This
parameter was introduced in NetCharts 4.0.
LineValueLabelStyle
LineValueLabelStyle = labelposition1,labelposition2 ..., labelpositionN;
Defines where the LineValueLabel
text will be justified for each point in a dataset.
example: LineValueLableStyle = CENTER, TOP;
Available justification options for LineValueLabelStyle
are:
| CENTER |
Center of the lineset datapoint |
| BOTTOM |
Bottom of the lineset datapoint |
| TOP |
Top of the lineset datapoint |
| LEFT |
Left of the lineset datapoint |
| RIGHT |
Right of the lineset datapoint |
| TOP RIGHT |
Top Right of the lineset datapoint |
| BOTTOM RIGHT |
Bottom Right of the lineset of the lineset datapoint |
| TOP LEFT |
Top Left of the lineset datapoint |
| BOTTOM LEFT |
Bottom Left of the lineset of the lineset datapoint |
| NONE |
No line labels display |
This parameter was introduced in NetCharts
4.0.
AppendDataSet[1–50]
AppendDataSet[1–50] = y1, y2, y3, ...;
Defines a list of y values for each dataset defined
by the DataSets parameter. The data is appended onto the data queue
for the specified dataset. Data is extracted from the queue when an
"Update" (described below) statement is passed. If the value
"null" is substituted for a y value, the symbol is not drawn
for that slot.
StripLayout
StripLayout = (NumSlots, InitialFill, MaxFill, UndefinedString);
Specifies basic strip chart information. The
NumSlots attribute identifies how many "steps" there are in
the chart's X axis. InitialFill is either LEFT or RIGHT and indicates
which side of the chart the data should begin fill from. The MaxFill
attribute indicates the maximum number of datapoints that can be simultaneously
loaded without loss. The UndefinedString is the string used when a tic
is shown but no data for the tic is available.
| NumSlots |
how
many "steps" there are in the chart's X axis |
| InitialFill |
either
LEFT or RIGHT and indicates which side of the chart the data should
begin fill from |
| MaxFill |
the
maximum number of datapoints that can be simultaneously loaded without
loss |
| UndefinedString |
used
when a tic is shown but no data for the tic is available |
Axis
TopAxis = (TicLabelColor,TicLabelFont,TicLabelFontSize,TicLabelAngle,SlotsPerTic, TicStart,TicStep,AxisType,TicColor);
BottomAxis = (TicLabelColor,TicLabelFont,TicLabelFontSize,TicLabelAngle,SlotsPerTic, TicStart,TicStep,AxisType,TicColor);
BottomAxis and TopAxis define the look and behavior of the
Top and Bottom axes. The values specified here override the equivalent values specified
by TopScale and BottomScale.
SlotsPerTic represents the number of slots between
tic marks. TicStart and TicStep are only used when automatically generating
labels and indicate the first tic value and the numerical increment.
AxisType, which can be either STATIC or DYNAMIC controls the behavior
of the Axis. With a STATIC axis, the tics never move, and each slot
has an associated label. If more labels are added to the axis, the slots
(but not tics) will shift. When the DYNAMIC axis type is used, both
tics and labels will move synchronously as data is added. STATIC tics
are faster than DYNAMIC tics.
| TicLabelColor |
represents color of the tic labels
|
| TicLabelFont |
represents font of the tic labels
|
| TicLabelFontSize |
represents font size of the tic labels
|
| TicLabelFontAngle |
represents drawing angle of the tic labels
(0,90,...)
|
| SlotsPerTic |
represents number of slots
between tic marks |
| TicStart |
represents first tic value |
| TicStep |
represents numerical increment |
| AxisType |
controls the behavior of the Axis can be STATIC or
DYNAMIC |
| TicColor |
represents color of the tic marks
|
Axis Scale
TopScale = (SlotsPerTic, TicStart,TicStep,AxisType);
BottomScale = (SlotsPerTic, TicStart,TicStep,AxisType);
SlotsPerTic represents the number of slots between
tic marks. TicStart and TicStep are only used when automatically generating
labels and indicate the first tic value and the numerical increment.
AxisType, which can be either STATIC or DYNAMIC controls the behavior
of the Axis. With a STATIC axis, the tics never move, and each slot
has an associated label. If more labels are added to the axis, the slots
(but not tics) will shift. When the DYNAMIC axis type is used, both
tics and labels will move synchronously as data is added. STATIC tics
are faster than DYNAMIC tics.
| SlotsPerTic |
represents number of slots
between tic marks |
| TicStart |
represents first tic value |
| TicStep |
represents numerical increment |
| AxisType |
controls the behavior of the Axis can be STATIC or
DYNAMIC |
Axis Scroll
TopScroll = (Min, Max);
BottomScroll = (Min, Max);
Defines the minimum and
maximum values that are used to delimit a range of slot values. Min
should always equal '0' and is included solely for consistency with
other axis types. Max should indicate the maximum number of slots that
can be stored.
When scrolling is enabled
for only one of the bottom or top axes, then the other axis is automatically
adjusted to stay in sync with the scrolling axis. If scrolling is enabled
for both axes, then they can be independently adjusted by the user,
which may lead to some unusual displays, depending on the application.
Update
Update;
Causes one "slot" of data to be extracted
from the input data queue for each data set and displayed. Update will
also update the axes and configure the dwell labels for the slot (if
defined).
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