Best way to provide charts on the web? Server-side or client-side library? HTML5?

Question

What would you sugges to provide a chart (line-based) on the web? I need to make something similar to a burn-down chart or stocks over time. The server side is django and using jquery for the client stuff.

What are the advantages to using something like pychart or some other python plot library which can produce an svg or png and display it?

Or providing the data in tables and using visualize or highchart for jquery to make generate the chart using javascript?

I would like to put points on the chart which are clickable, or which show more information on the specific turn.

What options are available with HTML5, does it come with builtin support for charts or do I have to do it with canvas only?

Thanks for your help.

Edit/Update. Thanks all for the suggestions.

Answer 1

Client-side charts have the advantage that can be manipulated by the user, but need client-side support for the technology that is used to implement the charts.

HTML5 charts:

• http://www.rgraph.net/
• jquery's visualize plugin
• http://www.jqplot.com/
• http://thejit.org/
• http://mbostock.github.com/d3/

Answer 2

After testing many charting tools, we are finally using Highcharts and Emprise JavaScript Chartings. Great Tools, not expensive.

Answer 3

I use pChart. its a charting library for use with PHP, it works very well with mysql and you query the mysql db from inside the pChart code. Other nice ones are Flot and Fusion Charts

Answer 4

Try: http://code.google.com/apis/visualization/interactive_charts.html