DEV Community: Pinesh Patel

Adding interactive charts for browsers and mobile devices.

Pinesh Patel — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 07:54:12 +0000

“Good charts don't just show data, they tell a story. Google Charts lets you tell it with code.” - DataViz Weekly

Turning raw data into rich visuals with Google Charts API.

Key Takeaways

Different Types Of Chart: Supports various chart types, including line, bar, pie, radar, Venn diagrams, and more.
Customizable: Configure an extensive set of options to perfectly match the look and feel of your website.
HTML5 / SVG: Cross-browser compatibility (adopting VML for older IE versions) and cross-platform portability to iOS and new Android releases. No plugins are needed.
Free: Since Google Charts is a Google product, it is an affordable option for both individuals and companies.
Dynamic Data: Use a range of data connection tools and protocols to establish a real-time connection to your data.

Index

Introduction
How does it work?
Step-by-Step Guide for drupal
- Include the Google Charts loader
- Create the code that will render the chart
Customizing Your Chart
FAQs
Stats
Interesting Facts
Conclusion

1. Introduction

The Google Chart API is a non-interactive Web service that creates graphical charts from user-supplied data. Google servers create a PNG image of a chart from data. The charts are built using JavaScript. The service supports a wide variety of chart information and formatting like bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, and much more. Users may conveniently embed these charts in a Web page by using a simple image tag.

2. How Does It Work?

The Google Chart API is an extremely simple tool that lets you easily create a chart from some data and embed it in a webpage. It uses JavaScript to create and render charts. You embed the data and formatting parameters in an HTTP request, and Google returns a PNG image of the chart.

Here’s the basic process:

Add the Google Charts library to your page.
Add the data you wish to display as a graph.
After processing the data, the API generates a chart according to chart type, options etc.
The generated chart will be rendered on the webpage.

3. Step-by-Step Guide for drupal

1. Include the Google Charts loader:
This script can be added into a custom module or theme, in form or page, or you can add it into libraries.yml file as per your requirement. All the dependent Google Charts libraries are loaded by this script.

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js"></script>

2. Create the code that will render the chart.
Create a <div> element:

<div id="myChart" style="width: 700px; height: 400px;"></div>
The chart will be rendered in this <div>. Use a unique ID element.

Add a core package:

google.charts.load('current', {'packages':['corechart']});

This line loads the corechart package, which contains standard chart types like line and bar charts, as well as the core visualization API.

Establish a callback function:

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawChart);

When the API is loaded, this function will be invoked. You can design and create any chart within this function.

Function to draw the chart:

function drawChart() {
      // 1. Use google.visualization.arrayToDataTable() to define your data.
      const data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([
        ['Year', 'Sales', 'Expenses'],
        ['2014', 1000, 400],
        ['2015', 1170, 460],
        ['2016', 660, 1120],
        ['2017', 1030, 540]
      ]);

      // 2. Configure the chart's title, colors, and other elements.
      const options = {
        title: 'Company Performance',
        curveType: 'function',
        legend: { position: 'bottom' }
      };

      // 3. Construct and illustrate a chart object.
      const chart = new google.visualization.LineChart(document.getElementById('myChart'));
      chart.draw(data, options);
    }

Although a line chart is produced in this example, you can utilize other chart types found in the corechart package.
Line chart live example: https://jsfiddle.net/8tb1zjdw/

Column chart live example: https://jsfiddle.net/vmz6hbfj/

“The Google Chart API turns data into decisions by making visualization effortless.” - Google Developer Team

4. Customizing Your Chart

To customize Google Charts, you can modify various aspects of the chart, such as titles, colors, sizes, and more, using a JavaScript options object. You can find the specific options available for each chart type in the Google Charts documentation.

Need to follow basic requirements depending on your data and chart type that you want to display such as line, bar, pie etc.
Based on the chart type, you need to add the different color scheme, font size, graph area, height, width and much more by updating the options variable.
Pass the static or dynamic data as per your need to the mentioned format.

5. FAQ’s

Q1: Does using Google Charts require knowledge of JavaScript?
No, it's easy to modify simple examples. JavaScript is useful for custom interactions, though.

Q2: How can I make a new chart?
Understanding the Introduction and Quickstart sections is the best way to get started.

Q3: Is there a way to utilize Google Charts in Drupal?
Yes, of course you can render charts in forms, blocks, or pages by using the API and attaching the external JS through your module or theme.

Q4: Is it possible to dynamically load data into Google Charts?
Absolutely, AJAX, JSON, or even integrated APIs can be used to feed charts.

“With Google Charts, developers don’t just report numbers they reveal insights.” - TechRadar Review

6. Stats

The companies using Google Chart Tools are most often found in the US and in the Information Technology and Services industry. - Companies using Google Chart Tools
Over 28,301 live websites are currently using Google Charts. - Websites using Google Charts
Google Charts offers a wide array of chart types around 30 types and also provides customization options for data visualization. - Chart Gallery

7.Interesting Facts

Launched in 2007, It has been helping developers visualize data for over 15 years.
Dynamic & Interactive, It can respond to hover, click, zoom, and even real-time data updates.
Everything renders client-side, no server-side rendering required.

8.Conclusion

Data visualization is made accessible and interesting with the help of the Google Chart API, which provides a flexible and easy-to-use method for creating and integrating interactive charts into web sites. Google Charts is still an effective tool for a variety of data visualization applications and it’s freely available.

About the Author: Pinesh Patel is a Senior Drupal Consultant at AddWebSolution, where he leads AI-based innovations in open-source CMS ecosystems.

AI-Driven Content Personalization with Drupal: 2025 Trends & Insights

Pinesh Patel — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 05:32:46 +0000

A Practical Guide to Smarter, Tailored Digital Experiences

“The future of AI is not about replacing humans, it's about augmenting human capabilities.” - Sundar Pichai

Key Takeaways

Drupal's AI module supports multiple providers, including OpenAI, Groq, Cohere, and Hugging Face, among others, without requiring custom code.
Integrate AI tools directly into CKEditor for on-the-fly content generation.
See how editors can generate, rewrite, translate text, and personalize content blocks.
Learn to include dynamic screenshots, stats, FAQs, SEO settings, and more.

Index

Introduction
Why Personalization Matters
Step-by-Step Setup
- Install Modules
- Configure OpenAI
- Add AI Assistant Button
Using AI Inside CKEditor
Optional Features
FAQs
Stats & Interesting Facts
Conclusion

1. Introduction

Personalized content is no longer just a “nice to have.” It’s an expectation.
From showing the right blog post to the right person to helping editors save time with AI-generated content, Drupal 10/11 makes this possible with minimal setup and maximum impact.
Thanks to the AI and OpenAI Provider modules, you can empower your Drupal site to adapt intelligently to your users, all without custom development.

2. Why Personalization Matters

91% of consumers are more likely to engage with personalized offers
Content engagement can increase by up to 80% with dynamic delivery
With AI in Drupal, editors spend less time drafting and more time strategizing.

3. Step-by-Step Setup

Install AI & OpenAI Provider
composer require drupal/ai drupal/openai
drush en ai openai -y
The Drupal AI module supports multiple AI services. You can configure OpenAI, Cohere, Hugging Face, or others.
In this guide, we’re using OpenAI for demonstration.

Configure OpenAI Provider
Navigate in Drupal:
Configuration → AI → AI Settings

Choose OpenAI (you can choose others like Cohere or Hugging Face)
Add your API key
Select model: gpt-3.5-turbo or gpt-4
Adjust temperature, token limits, and logging

Add AI Assistant to CKEditor
Navigate:
Configuration → Text formats and editors → Full HTML (or your format)
Drag AI Assistant into toolbar and save.

“AI is not a substitute for human intelligence; it is a tool to amplify human creativity and ingenuity.” - Fei‑Fei Li

4. Using AI Inside CKEditor

Once configured, editors can:

Click the AI Assistant
Enter prompts (“Write a summary about AI in Drupal”)
Instantly receive AI-generated content

5. Optional Features

Want more? Enable:

Text rewriting-select text to paraphrase or enhance
Language translation-highlight and translate content
Image generation-create visuals (e.g. broccoli in a Tesla)
Smart block visibility-show blocks based on user roles, pages, or locations

“AI will not replace humans, but those who use AI will replace those who don’t.” - Ginni Rometty

6. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Do editors need API knowledge?
No-everything works through CKEditor buttons and prompts.

Q2: Is AI secure in Drupal?
Yes-module permissions control who can use it, plus you can disable by role.

Q3: Can I use other AI providers?
Absolutely-the module supports multiple providers-OpenAI is just one.

7. Stats & Interesting Facts

91% of consumers prefer brands with personalized interactions-Accenture
80% engagement increase possible with content personalization-Econsultancy
Drupal 10+ AI modules support multiple AI engines (OpenAI, Cohere, etc.) - Drupal.org

8. Conclusion

AI personalization in Drupal is now plug-and-play. With just a few steps, your content team can write faster, smarter, and more engagingly-with visuals and dynamic layouts included.
Let Drupal handle the thinking-while you remain creative.

About the Author: Pinesh Patel is a Senior Drupal Consultant at AddWebSolution, where he leads AI-based innovations in open-source CMS ecosystems.