Choosing a Chart Library for .Net

Question

I have a client who needs to convert a charting application (which was developed in MFC for a long time) to C #. The application displays large networks (many graphic elements) and allows the user to edit / process data using a graphical interface.

I decided it was better to use the library, rather than developing everything from scracth (all graphical objects / selection / tools / events / etc)

I am looking for a commercial solution.

I found three that seem very mature, and I wonder if someone used them and could write their opinion:

• Visualization of Tom Sawyer
• IBM ILog Diagrammer for. Net
• yWorks - yFiles for. Net

thanks yaron

Answer 1

To create good looking diagrams in .Net you should check Frank Hileman VG.Net. He is a famous MVP, and I believe his solution is really good:

http://www.vgdotnet.com/

Answer 2

I am not familiar with these libraries, but in one of my old projects we use the GoDiagram library and we can assume that too

Answer 3

I recommend MindFusion Flowchart.NET . It is very easy to use and very affordable, given that it comes with many powerful layout algorithms. We used to use GoDiagram, but I recommend against it because their licensing system is a nightmare if you have machines to build and it is much more expensive.

Answer 4

I know this is probably not the best solution, but I will publish it anyway.

I did something similar to this using .Net System.ComponenetModel.DesignSurface. This is the same design service that is used in Visual Studio Windows Forms, so all you do is create your own controls, add control designers if you want, and you're good to go. You can use the PropertyGrid to display data for each object as you select it. The Code Project contains several articles about this, for example one .

This suggests that this is not the best performance. In some cases, I have several thousand controls on DesignSurface, and it gets sluggish. You can get around this using a different type of root constructor (perhaps WPF?).

This can be a very good option if you already know how to make custom Windows Forms controls. And best of all, it's free!

Answer 5

I believe the Dundas diagrams are the most famous ... or at least the most advertised:

http://www.dundas.com/Microsite/ChartNET/Default.aspx?Campaign=GoogleCSharpChart&gclid=CM-wncOq354CFUmK3godxENfMQ

Answer 6

Take a look at Orbifold . They have solutions based on WPF (commercial) or libraries that support GDI + (free).

It is also a good starting point for information on chart algorithms in general.