Producing Charts

The GCHART procedure produces block charts that use three-dimensional blocks to graphically represent values of statistics. Block charts are useful for emphasizing relative magnitudes and differences among data values.

The GCHART procedure produces horizontal bar charts that use horizontal bars to represent statistics based on the values of one or more variables. Horizontal bar charts can generate a table of chart statistics and are useful for displaying exact magnitudes and emphasizing differences.

The GCHART procedure produces vertical bar charts that use vertical bars to represent statistics based on the values of one or more variables. Vertical bar charts generate only one statistic and are useful for displaying exact magnitudes and emphasizing differences.

The GCHART procedure produces pie charts, detailed pie charts, three-dimensional pie charts, and donut charts. The angles of pie slices are used to graphically represent the value of a statistic for a data range. Pie charts are useful for examining how the values of a variable contribute to the whole and for comparing the values of several variables.

The GCHART procedure produces star charts use the length of spines to graphically represent the value of a statistic for a data range. Star charts are useful for analyzing where data is out of balance.

The GBARLINE procedure produces vertical bar charts with plot overlays. These charts graphically represent the value of a statistic calculated for one or more variables in an input SAS data set. The charted variables can be either numeric or character.

The GAREABAR procedure produces area bar charts that show the magnitudes of two variables for each category of data. For example, the following area bar chart shows the sales total for each of three geographical sites. The width of each bar indicates the number of salespersons at each site. In a bar chart such as the chart shown in Vertical Bar Charts, the width is the same for each bar. In an area bar chart, the width and height of each bar is determined by the value of variables. See GAREABAR Procedure for a complete description.

The GTILE procedure produces charts that tile charts that consist of a rectangle or square divided into tiles. The sizes of the individual tiles represent the value of the size variable. You can also specify a color variable, so that the colors of the individual tiles represent the magnitude of the color variable. Tile charts are useful for determining the relative magnitude of categories of data or the contribution of a category toward the whole. See GTILE Procedure for more information.

The GRADAR procedure produces radar charts that show the relative frequency of data measures. On a radar chart, the chart statistics are displayed along spokes that radiate from the center of the chart. The charts are often stacked on top of one another with reference circles, thus giving them the look of a radar screen. Radar charts are frequently called star charts and are often used in quality control or market research problems.

The GKPI procedure creates graphical key performance indicator (KPI) charts. KPIs are metrics that help a business monitor its performance and measure its progress toward specific goals. The procedure produces five KPI chart types: