[eyelidlessness]

SVG complexity is a good counterpoint to “why this instead of SVG”. But I don’t think we need to even address the claim that most tools for SVG generation use JS, if the concern is JS on the client.

Realistically, on a scale beyond very few graphs, it’s pretty likely some sort of software is going to be used to process data into markup. At which point, if the desired result is static markup, it doesn’t really matter (to the end user) whether that software is written in JS or some other language. That’s a toolchain concern. It probably doesn’t matter much if at all (to the end user) whether the resulting markup is HTML or SVG. There may be some imperceptible performance difference, or slightly different accessibility requirements. But neither requires users to run JS.

If I were evaluating this choice, it would almost certainly come down to what’s most familiar, or what most readily integrates with other parts of the project’s stack and/or data sources. And I could easily imagine even that evaluation being a wash.

[marcusb]

> SVG complexity is a good counterpoint to “why this instead of SVG”. But I don’t think we need to even address the claim that most tools for SVG generation use JS, if the concern is JS on the client.

If you want to address the generation of charts on the client, then, yes, JS is something that needs to be addressed, because SVG (or Canvas) are not in and of themselves systems for generating charts. There isn't a <PieChart> primitive within the SVG spec, to my knowledge.

The entire purpose of this library seems to be generating charts in pure markup without any scripting language dependencies. Trying to pretend that isn't relevant, or suggesting that "SVG" is, in and of itself, a viable substitute is just really weird.

[eyelidlessness]

I’ve had no problem rendering far more complex graphics than a pie chart, with SVG, without sending a single byte of JS to clients (not just the SVGs, a variety of fairly interactive content!). I realize that’s fairly niche, and it’s a bit of a personal special interest. But I can say with certainty that it’s possible, because I have done it.

Sure, I have used JS (TS) for building these projects, but that’s immaterial because it never ships to clients.

As for pie chart “primitives”, I’m not asking you to take my word for it but I also can say with relatively high confidence that SVG as a technology is capable of the kinds of composition needed for that. It probably won’t match the ergonomics of a few CSS variables, but it could come close if you’re willing to overlook the verbosity of XML syntax.

Not that I’m saying you or anyone should do that! My original response wasn’t intended to persuade you or anyone that SVG is a better choice of technology for this purpose. Only to clarify that there is no inherent requirement to run client side JS to render SVG charts. That’s probably not super interesting in its own right, it’s only a clarifying statement of fact.