Wednesday 24 April 2013

Implement Bullet Sparkline using extended Enkitec Plug-in

This post details the implementation of an extended version the Enkitec Sparklines Plug-in to include bullet charts. Previously I posted how this extension was made.

First you need to download and import the plug-in. Once this is done, you can define the data used, then create a dynamic action to convert the data into the sparkline chart.

In my case I didn't need to consider string aggregation techniques as my data came from different fields. I defined a dynamic PL/SQL block that generated HTML similar to
<span id="jobBullet">12,15,15,13</span>
Where the values are respectively Target (red line), Performance (inner blue line), Range (full background shading), Expected (first layer of shading, near red line)

Target, Performance, two ranges
We will probably use the inner blue line to represent "expected" target, and have just one background colour, so this data set would not have the fourth number.
Target, Performance, Range
I found the jQuery Sparkline documentation lacking when attempting to modify the tooltip values.
I ended up finding the information I need in the related Google Group.
tooltipValueLookups: { fields: {r: 'Range', p: 'Performance', t: 'Measurement'} }

This information forms part of the onLoad dynamic action that will convert the span of data into a sparkline.

The action utilised comes directly from the plug-in definition: Enkitec Sparklines [Plug-in]
I directly identify the data span with the jQuery selector #jobBullet
When generating a sparkline for every row in a report, it's likely your selector will be a class.
I wanted my sparkline to be larger, so I adjusted the plug-in to allow me to enter the common width property each time.


My next step is to parameterise the colour scheme so I can modify the Performance colour to be green or red, depending on the Target value.

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