The Differences Between csDrawGraph and csXGraph
Chestysoft offer two graph plotting components, csDrawGraph and csXGraph, and they produce very similar results. They have been produced for different purposes and the differences between them are explained here.
csXGraph is an OCX control which means that it has a visual interface. It can be used within a visual programming environment such as Visual Basic where it can be dropped onto a form and is visible. Properties can be set at design time, as well as in the programme code. csDrawGraph is a COM object, does not have a visual interface and is in the form of a DLL. It can be made to work within a visual programming environment, but some effort is involved. A description of how to do this is provided here.
Licensing
The licensing types are different. csXGraph is expected to be used within a Windows application and the licence reflects this by charging for the number of design-time users. The OCX file can be distributed with an application. csDrawGraph is intended primarily for use with Active Server Pages and is licensed by the number of machines it is run on.
Syntax
There are some syntax differences, mainly concerning fonts and colours. csXGraph uses the ActiveX data types of IFontDisp and OLE_COLOR. The font properties can usually be accessed at design time in the form of a font dialogue box. The colours are specified as numbers which are usually entered as hexadecimal values where blue is represented by the highest bytes. csDrawGraph provides its own properties for the fonts and does not quite have as much control over text settings. The colours are defined as strings in the same way as used by HTML ("RRGGBB" hexadecimal values).
The methods for actually producing a graph are different. With csXGraph a property is set to specify the type of graph and a command then draws the graph on the control. csDrawGraph has a separate command to produce each type of graph.
Mouse Events
csXGraph has some mouse events that allow interaction with the control when a graph has been drawn. csDrawGraph achieves a similar effect in a web page by allowing HTML image map code to be exported.
Trial Versions
The trial version of csXGraph is restricted by writing some text on the top of each graph produced. The trial version of csDrawGraph is time limited.
For both components there is no substitute for reading and familiarising yourself with the instructions. They are provided in PDF format and can be printed for reference if required.