What is a scale

A scale is displayed within a chart by a dedicated optional scale object. The base class used to represent a scale is the IlvScale class.

By default, scales are automatically created when a chart is constructed. You can control if scales are automatically created by means of the following constructor:

IlvChart(int type, boolean withScales)

Scales might be defined as a graphical representation of a chart axis. As such, a scale is always associated with an IlvAxis instance. To determine the axis that has to be associated with a scale when the scale is added to a chart, use the following methods:

  • setXScale associates the specified scale with the x-axis.

  • setYScale associates the specified scale with the y-axis of the given index.

You can retrieve the scale associated with an axis from the axis index using the following methods:

Note

Since scales are optional components, these methods may return null if no scale has been previously set on the specified axis.

A scale is composed of the following elements:

  • An axis representation, which depends on the chart projection (could be a line or an arc).

  • Major ticks, the marks drawn on the axis at each step of the scale.

  • Steps labels, drawn next to the major ticks. These labels indicate the values of the coordinate represented by the scale.

  • Minor ticks, the marks drawn on the axis at each substep of the scale.

  • A title, which can be placed anywhere along the axis representation.

Scales Structure