Rendering dynamic charts using the JFreeChart API

PrimeFaces internally uses the jqPlot library, which is based on jQuery, to generate charts using a canvas element. We can also create charts on the server side using the JFreeChart library (http://www.jfree.org/jfreechart/) and render the chart images using the PrimeFaces <p:graphicImage> component.

To add the JFreeChart jar file to the classpath, add the following maven dependency.

<dependency>
  <groupId>jfree</groupId>
  <artifactId>jfreechart</artifactId>
  <version>1.0.13</version>
</dependency>

Let us see how we can create a Pie chart using the JFreeChart API and render it using the PrimeFaces <p:graphicImage>.