What is ag-charts-server-side-example?

This project shows you how to turn charts into image files (like PNG or JPEG) using code on a server, without needing a web browser. It is a set of examples for AG Charts, a charting library, demonstrating how to render bar charts and other visuals directly in a Node.js environment. Normally, charts are drawn on a screen by a browser. This approach, called server-side rendering, shifts that work to the server. The project includes a few different examples: one creates a basic PNG chart, another creates a JPEG with specific quality and resolution settings, and a third sets up a simple web server that provides a chart image when you visit a specific web address. A developer or founder building a backend system that needs to generate reports or send automated emails with charts in them would use this. For instance, if you have a dashboard that sends a weekly performance summary email, you could use this method to generate an up-to-date chart image and attach it, rather than forcing the recipient to click a link and load a web page. The project is built to run on Node.js and uses a tool called skia-canvas to handle the actual drawing. The README notes that this drawing tool relies on certain underlying system components, which are provided if you run the code in GitHub Codespaces, a cloud-based development environment. You can also run it locally if you have Node.js version 20 or newer installed.