CodeProfessor

Another Tag Graph Example June 15, 2006

This is a really short post. I came across another variation on a tag graph at Ohmpage., but it’s called a Content Taxonomy there. Just scroll down to the bottom right of any page on the site. Tag graphs, as you’ll recall, are a variation on tag clouds.

If you view the source code, you’ll see that it’s built up using CSS styles and variable percent widths instead of hard pixel widths. Pretty ingenious. There are a number of ways you could pull it off using CSS and Javascript, but pure CSS makes it simple. Here is an example of graphing using just CSS. However, it would take some reworking to produce something more compact.

Another way that something similar could be created is using PHP code, in a blog platform plugin, to generate the graphical bars with the GD 2.0 graphics library. This library needs to be built as a PHP module on your webserver, but tends to come with most hosting plans these days that support PHP - even budget hosts.

I’ll talk about great WP plugin next time that might be ideal for pulling off tag graphs easily, with just a bit of tweaking. You can see an example of it’s graphing capabilities at left. If you want more than a sneak peak at the possibilties, go check out Sparklines.org.