Diagramming for the Web with yWorks Products
There are a lot of possibilities to generate the content for a diagramming client with yWorks products.
Different scenarios require different technologies. Depending on the use case, web applications can be created using one of our dedicated web products yFiles FLEX, yFiles AJAX, and yFiles for Silverlight, using our yFiles for Java library, or a combination of these products.
The Java library is able to export various image formats. It is even possible to add basic interactivity to such image based views using scripting languages.
On the other hand, if you want to use state-of-the-art web technologies with fully-featured graph viewer or editing capabilities, we offer our dedicated web products yFiles FLEX, yFiles AJAX, and yFiles for Silverlight.
For example, if you just want to display images of diagrams in a browser or create a Java Applet or Java Web Start application, you can choose yFiles for Java without any additional web product to implement your web-based graph viewer.
Overview
The following table provides a brief overview of our products and their applicability to web-based diagramming applications. For a detailed comparison of our web packages, see below.
| Product | Client Technology | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|
| yFiles FLEX | Flash Player 9 | Cross-platform, cross-browser development; complete client-side diagramming API | Flash Player 9 plugin required |
| yFiles AJAX | JavaScript/DOM | No browser plugin required; good performance with large graphs | Restricted to web standard scripting/user interface design |
| yFiles for Silverlight | Silverlight plugin | Cross-platform, cross-browser development; client-side layout calculation. | Silverlight plugin required |
| yFiles for Java | Java Applet | Applicability of the complete JDK and yFiles for Java API | Dependent on specific version of the Java plugin, slow startup time |
| Java Web Start | Applicability of the complete JDK and yFiles for Java API | Java Runtime Environment required | |
| Image based | No plugins required | Limited interaction possibilities |
yFiles Web 2.0 - Web Diagramming Applications
If you need to create stunning web-based diagramming applications that scale well and are easy to deploy, you have found the right spot. We offer three different packages supporting the development of such applications: yFiles FLEX, yFiles AJAX, and yFiles for Silverlight
All yFiles Web packages can be used to create custom web applications that offer viewing and editing functionality for diagrams.
The packages differ in the technologies they use and are applicable to different use cases:
yFiles AJAX uses a yFiles for Java-powered server component and does not need any browser plugins. yFiles FLEX builds upon Adobe Flex and requires a Flash Player 9 plugin. yFiles for Silverlight is a library for the Microsoft® Silverlight development platform and requires a Silverlight plugin.
Feature Comparison
The following table provides a comparison of the features already implemented in the distributions of the yFiles Web 2.0 packages. It is of course possible to add custom functionality to these libraries.
| yFiles FLEX | yFiles AJAX | yFiles for Silverlight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Features | |||
| Custom Node Graphics (Bitmap/Vector Images) |  / |
/ |
/ |
| Panning (scroll bars/mouse drag) |
/ |
 / |
/ |
| Mouse Wheel/Marquee Zoom | / |
/ |
/ |
| Tooltips | |
|
|
| Context Menu | |
|
|
| Create/Delete/Move Nodes | // |
// |
// |
| Create/Delete Edges | / |
/ |
/ |
| Create/Delete/Move Bends | // |
//(1) |
// |
| Create/Edit Node Labels | / |
/ |
/ |
| Create/Edit Edge Labels | / |
/(1) |
/ |
| Marquee Selection | |
|
|
| Resize Nodes | |
(1) |
|
| Animation | |
|
|
| Graph Download | |
|
|
| Overview | |
|
|
| Printing | |
|
|
| Image Export | |
|
|
| PDF Export | |
(2) |
|
| SVG Export | |
(3) |
|
| Client Side Layout | |
|
|
| Server Side Layout | |
|
|
| yFiles FLEX | yFiles AJAX | yFiles for Silverlight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requirements (Client) | |||
| Plugins | Flash Player 9 | None | Silverlight plugin |
| Browser | None(4) | Firefox 3.0 or 3.5, Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8 | Plugin available for all major browsers and platforms. |
| Requirements (Server) | |||
| Libraries |
yFiles for Java Complete 2.6 series, if the
yFiles FLEX Java server library is used.
yFiles.NET Complete 3.2 series, if the yFiles FLEX .NET server library is used. |
yFiles for Java 2.7 series | - |
| Servlet Container | Mandatory only if yFiles for Java is used | Servlet spec. 2.4+ (e.g., Tomcat 5.5+) |
- |
| Java | 1.4.2+, if yFiles for Java is used | 1.4.2+ | - |
| Requirements (Development) | |||
| Tools | Flex SDK If yFiles.NET is used for the server component, Visual Studio is recommended. |
None | Silverlight 3 SDK and Visual Studio 2008 or later or Visual Web Developer 2008 or later. |
Choosing the right yFiles Web Product
If you wonder which yFiles Web product suits your needs best, the following overview will help you choosing the right technology for your use case.
|
|
|
| Requires a Flash-9-enabled browser. | Requires a Silverlight plugin. | Works in any modern browser - no plugin needed. |
| Automatic Layout using a optional yFiles Java or yFiles.NET server component. | Client-side layout support. | Automatic Layout using the required yFiles Java server component. |
| Diagramming canvas implemented as an Adobe Flex Component. | Diagramming canvas implemented as a Silverlight Control. | Diagramming canvas implemented as a Dojo Widget. |
| Easy integration into any Rich Internet Application (RIA) that uses Flex. | Easy integration into projects using the Microsoft® .NET framework. | Easy implementation of custom functionality using Java/yFiles on the server and JavaScript/dojo on the client. |
| Keeps the graph on the client. | No server component required. | Keeps the graph on the server. |
| Provides a full-fledged diagramming API that allows unlimited customization of client applications. | Limited client-side editing API | |
| Allows fully interactive diagram viewing and editing functionality. | Limited graph editing capabilities | |
| Works with any server technology. Ready-to-use Java and .NET server demo applications are contained in the distribution. | No server required. | yFiles for Java server required |
If you want to find out more about the yFiles Web products, take a look at the product pages of yFiles AJAX, yFiles FLEX, and yFiles for Silverlight.
If you are still unsure what product to choose, please contact our sales team.
(4) You can find information about the requirements for Flash Player 9 on the Adobe website.
