Create an API-based Chart

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Creating an API-based Chart
Sometimes, charts data are complicated and closely tied to your business. Forest Admin allows you to code how the chart is computed. Choose API as the data source when configuring your chart.
Forest Admin will make the HTTP call to Smart Chart URL when retrieving the chart values for the rendering.
Value API-based Chart
On our Live Demo, we have a MRR value chart which computes our Monthly Recurring Revenue. This chart queries the Stripe API to get all charges made in the current month (in March for this example).
SQL
Mongodb
Rails
When serializing the data, we use the Liana.StatSerializer() serializer. Check the value syntax below.
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{ value: <number> }
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/routes/dashboard.js
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const P = require('bluebird');
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const express = require('express');
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const router = express.Router();
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const Liana = require('forest-express-sequelize');
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const stripe = require('stripe')(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
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const moment = require('moment');
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​
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...
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​
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router.post('/stats/mrr', (req, res) => {
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  let mrr = 0;
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​
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  let from = moment.utc('2018-03-01').unix();
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  let to = moment.utc('2018-03-31').unix();
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​
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  return stripe.charges
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    .list({ 
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      created: { gte: from, lte: to }
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    })
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    .then((response) => {
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      return P.each(response.data, (charge) => {
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        mrr += charge.amount;
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      });
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    })
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    .then(() => {
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      let json = new Liana.StatSerializer({ 
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        value: mrr 
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      }).perform();
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​
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      res.send(json);
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    });
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});
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​
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...
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​
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module.exports = router;
Copied!
When serializing the data, we use the Liana.StatSerializer() serializer. Check the value syntax below.
1
{ value: <number> }
Copied!
/routes/dashboard.js
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const P = require('bluebird');
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const express = require('express');
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const router = express.Router();
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const Liana = require('forest-express-mongoose');
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const stripe = require('stripe')(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
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const moment = require('moment');
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​
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...
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​
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router.post('/stats/mrr', (req, res) => {
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  let mrr = 0;
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​
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  let from = moment.utc('2018-03-01').unix();
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  let to = moment.utc('2018-03-31').unix();
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​
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  return stripe.charges
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    .list({ 
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      created: { gte: from, lte: to }
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    })
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    .then((response) => {
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      return P.each(response.data, (charge) => {
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        mrr += charge.amount;
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      });
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    })
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    .then(() => {
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      let json = new Liana.StatSerializer({ 
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        value: mrr 
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      }).perform();
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​
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      res.send(json);
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    });
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});
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​
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...
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​
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module.exports = router;
Copied!
​
When serializing the data, we use the serialize_model() method. Check the value syntax below.
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{ value: <number> }
Copied!
/config/routes.rb
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Rails.application.routes.draw do
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  # MUST be declared before the mount ForestLiana::Engine.
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  namespace :forest do
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    post '/stats/mrr' => 'charts#mrr'
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  end
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  mount ForestLiana::Engine => '/forest'
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end
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/app/controllers/forest/charts_controller.rb
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class Forest::ChartsController < ForestLiana::ApplicationController
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  def mrr
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    mrr = 0
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​
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    from = Date.parse('2018-03-01').to_time(:utc).to_i
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    to = Date.parse('2018-03-31').to_time(:utc).to_i
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​
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    Stripe::Charge.list({ 
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      created: { gte: from, lte: to }, 
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      limit: 100 
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    }).each do |charge|
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      mrr += charge.amount / 100
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    end
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​
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    stat = ForestLiana::Model::Stat.new({ value: mrr })
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    render json: serialize_model(stat)
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  end
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end
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Repartition API-based Chart
On our Live Demo, we have a Charges repartition chart which shows a repartition chart distributed by credit card country. This chart queries the Stripe API to get all charges made in the current month (in March for this example) and check the credit card country.
SQL
Mongodb
Rails
When serializing the data, we use the Liana.StatSerializer() serializer. Check the value syntax below.
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{
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  value: [{
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    key: <string> ,
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    value: <number>
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  }, {
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    key: <string> ,
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    value: <number>
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  }, …]
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}
Copied!
/routes/dashboard.js
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const _ = require('lodash');
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const P = require('bluebird');
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const express = require('express');
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const router = express.Router();
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const Liana = require('forest-express-sequelize');
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const stripe = require('stripe')(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
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const moment = require('moment');
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​
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router.post('/stats/credit-card-country-repartition', Liana.ensureAuthenticated, (req, res) => {
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  let repartition = [];
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​
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  let from = moment.utc('2018-03-01').unix();

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  let to = moment.utc('2018-03-20').unix();
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​
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  return stripe.charges
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    .list({ 
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      created: { gte: from, lte: to }
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    })
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    .then((response) => {
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      return P.each(response.data, (charge) => {
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        let country = charge.source.country || 'Others';
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​
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        let entry = _.find(repartition, { key: country });
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        if (!entry) {
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          repartition.push({ key: country, value: 1 }); 
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        } else {
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          entry.value++;
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        }
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      });
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    })
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    .then(() => {
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      let json = new Liana.StatSerializer({ 
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        value: repartition 
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      }).perform();
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​
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      res.send(json);
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    });
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});
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​
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module.exports = router;
Copied!
When serializing the data, we use the Liana.StatSerializer() serializer. Check the value syntax below.
1
{
2
  value: [{
3
    key: <string> ,
4
    value: <number>
5
  }, {
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    key: <string> ,
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    value: <number>
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  }, …]
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}
Copied!
/routes/dashboard.js
1
const _ = require('lodash');
2
const P = require('bluebird');
3
const express = require('express');
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const router = express.Router();
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const Liana = require('forest-express-mongoose');
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const stripe = require('stripe')(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
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const moment = require('moment');
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​
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router.post('/stats/credit-card-country-repartition', Liana.ensureAuthenticated, (req, res) => {
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  let repartition = [];
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​
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  let from = moment.utc('2018-03-01').unix();

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  let to = moment.utc('2018-03-20').unix();
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​
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  return stripe.charges
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    .list({ 
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      created: { gte: from, lte: to }
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    })
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    .then((response) => {
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      return P.each(response.data, (charge) => {
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        console.log(charge.source);
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        let country = charge.source.country || 'Others';
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​
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        let entry = _.find(repartition, { key: country });
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        if (!entry) {
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          repartition.push({ key: country, value: 1 }); 
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        } else {
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          entry.value++;
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        }
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      });
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    })
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    .then(() => {
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      let json = new Liana.StatSerializer({ 
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        value: repartition 
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      }).perform();
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​
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      res.send(json);
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    });
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});
40
​
41
module.exports = router;
Copied!
​
When serializing the data, we use the serialize_model() method. Check the value syntax below.
1
{
2
  value: [{
3
    key: <string> ,
4
    value: <number>
5
  }, {
6
    key: <string> ,
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    value: <number>
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  }, …]
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}
Copied!
/config/routes.rb
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Rails.application.routes.draw do
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  # MUST be declared before the mount ForestLiana::Engine.
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  namespace :forest do
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    post '/stats/credit-card-country-repartition' => 'charts#credit_card_country_repartition'
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  end
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  mount ForestLiana::Engine => '/forest'
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end
Copied!
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class Forest::ChartsController < ForestLiana::ApplicationController
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  def credit_card_country_repartition
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    repartition = []
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​
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    from = Date.parse('2018-03-01').to_time(:utc).to_i
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    to = Date.parse('2018-03-20').to_time(:utc).to_i
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​
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    Stripe::Charge.list({ 
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      created: { gte: from, lte: to }, 
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      limit: 100 
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    }).each do |charge|
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      country = charge.source.country || 'Others'
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​
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      entry = repartition.find { |e| e[:key] == country }
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      if !entry
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        repartition << { key: country, value: 1 }
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      else
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        ++entry[:value]
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      end
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    end
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​
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    stat = ForestLiana::Model::Stat.new({ value: repartition })
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    render json: serialize_model(stat)
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  end
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end
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Time-based API-based Chart
On our Live Demo, we have a Charges time-based chart which shows the number of charges per day. This chart queries the Stripe API to get all charges made in the current month (in March for this example) and group data by day.
SQL
Mongodb
Rails
When serializing the data, we use the Liana.StatSerializer() serializer. Check the value syntax below.
1
{
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  value: [{
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    label: <string> ,
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    values: { value: <number> }
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  }, {
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    label: <string> ,
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    values: { value: <number> }
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  }, …]
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}
Copied!
/routes/dashboard.js
1
const _ = require('lodash');
2
const P = require('bluebird');
3
const express = require('express');
4
const router = express.Router();
5
const Liana = require('forest-express-sequelize');
6
const stripe = require('stripe')(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
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const moment = require('moment');
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​
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router.post('/stats/charges-per-day', (req, res) => {
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  let values = [];
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​
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  let from = moment.utc('2018-03-01').unix();
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  let to = moment.utc('2018-03-31').unix();
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​
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  return stripe.charges
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    .list({ 
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      created: { gte: from, lte: to }
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    })
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    .then((response) => {
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      return P.each(response.data, (charge) => {
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        let date = moment.unix(charge.created).startOf('day').format('LLL');
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​
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        let entry = _.find(values, { label: date });
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        if (!entry) {
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          values.push({ label: date, values: { value: 1 } }); 
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        } else {
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          entry.values.value++;
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        }
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      });
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    })
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    .then(() => {
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      let json = new Liana.StatSerializer({ 
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        value: values 
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      }).perform();
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​
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      res.send(json);
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    });
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});
39
​
40
module.exports = router;
Copied!
When serializing the data, we use the Liana.StatSerializer() serializer. Check the value syntax below.
1
{
2
  value: [{
3
    label: <string> ,
4
    values: { value: <number> }
5
  }, {
6
    label: <string> ,
7
    values: { value: <number> }
8
  }, …]
9
}
Copied!
/routes/dashboard.js
1
const _ = require('lodash');
2
const P = require('bluebird');
3
const express = require('express');
4
const router = express.Router();
5
const Liana = require('forest-express-mongoose');
6
const stripe = require('stripe')(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
7
const moment = require('moment');
8
​
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router.post('/stats/charges-per-day', (req, res) => {
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  let values = [];
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​
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  let from = moment.utc('2018-03-01').unix();
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  let to = moment.utc('2018-03-31').unix();
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​
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  return stripe.charges
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    .list({ 
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      created: { gte: from, lte: to }
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    })
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    .then((response) => {
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      return P.each(response.data, (charge) => {
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        let date = moment.unix(charge.created).startOf('day').format('LLL');
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​
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        let entry = _.find(values, { label: date });
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        if (!entry) {
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          values.push({ label: date, values: { value: 1 } }); 
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        } else {
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          entry.values.value++;
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        }
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      });
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    })
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    .then(() => {
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      let json = new Liana.StatSerializer({ 
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        value: values 
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      }).perform();
35
​
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      res.send(json);
37
    });
38
});
39
​
40
module.exports = router;
Copied!
When serializing the data, we use the serialize_model() method. Check the value syntax below.
1
{
2
  value: [{
3
    label: <string> ,
4
    values: { value: <number> }
5
  }, {
6
    label: <string> ,
7
    values: { value: <number> }
8
  }, …]
9
}
Copied!
/config/routes.rb
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Rails.application.routes.draw do
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  # MUST be declared before the mount ForestLiana::Engine.
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  namespace :forest do
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    post '/stats/charges-per-day' => 'charts#charges_per_day'
5
  end
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  mount ForestLiana::Engine => '/forest'
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end
Copied!
/app/controllers/forest/charts_controller.rb
1
class Forest::ChartsController < ForestLiana::ApplicationController
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  def charges_per_day
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    values = []
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​
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    from = Date.parse('2018-03-01').to_time(:utc).to_i
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    to = Date.parse('2018-03-31').to_time(:utc).to_i
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​
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    Stripe::Charge.list({ 
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      created: { gte: from, lte: to }, 
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      limit: 100 
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    }).each do |charge|
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      date = Time.at(charge.created).beginning_of_day.strftime("%d/%m/%Y")
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      entry = values.find { |e| e[:label] == date }
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      if !entry
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        values << { label: date, values: { value: 1 } }
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      else
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        ++entry[:values][:value]
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      end
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    end
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​
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    stat = ForestLiana::Model::Stat.new({ value: values })
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    render json: serialize_model(stat)
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  end
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end
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Objective API-based Chart
Creating an Objective Smart Chart means you'll be fetching your data from an external API endpoint:
This endpoint must return data with the following format:
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{
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  value: {
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    value: xxxx,
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    objective: yyyy
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  }
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}
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Here's how you could implement it:
SQL
Mongodb
Rails
/routes/dashboard.js
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​// [...]
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const Liana = require('forest-express-sequelize');
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​
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// [...]
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​
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router.post('/stats/some-objective', (req, res) => {
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  // fetch your data here (a promise must be returned)
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  .then(() => {
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    let json = new Liana.StatSerializer({
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      value: {
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        value: fetchedValue,
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        objective: fetchedObjective
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      }
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    }).perform();
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    res.send(json);
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  }
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}
Copied!
/routes/dashboard.js
1
​// [...]
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const Liana = require('forest-express-mongoose');
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​
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// [...]
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​
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router.post('/stats/some-objective', (req, res) => {
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  // fetch your data here (a promise must be returned)
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  .then(() => {
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    let json = new Liana.StatSerializer({
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      value: {
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        value: fetchedValue,
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        objective: fetchedObjective
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      }
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    }).perform();
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    res.send(json);
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  }
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}
Copied!
/config/routes.rb
1
...
2
​
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namespace :forest do
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  post '/stats/some-objective' => 'customers#some_objective'
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end
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​
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...
Copied!
/app/controller/forest/your-model-controller.rb
1
...
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​
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def some_objective
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  # fetch your data here
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  stat = ForestLiana::Model::Stat.new({
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    value: {
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      value: 10, # the fetched value
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      objective: 678 # the fetched objective
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    }
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  })
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  render json: serialize_model(stat)
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end
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​
14
...
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Display record-specific charts in Analytics
Create a Smart Chart
Last modified 5mo ago
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Contents
Creating an API-based Chart
Value API-based Chart
Repartition API-based Chart
Time-based API-based Chart
Objective API-based Chart