Several years ago I needed a charting utility in java. I can’t remember specifically what for, but I had some very specific requirements that I knew I wouldn’t find in anything that existed. I basically wanted Matlab charts with a network interface, text based command protocol and the ability to control rendering so that I could have time based color changes of certain plots. Think scatter plots where the scatter fades into the background over time. I also wanted a robust cursor feature. I started developing the charting utility in java and called it simple java chart (sjchart). I didn’t get as far as I wanted with it but it is functional and has the network interface and accepts xml formatted plot commands. I also developed a ruby command line client that accepts simple Matlab like math and plot commands.
I’m trying to decide what to do with this. Open source it and continue developing it with a free license for personal projects and charge for commercial use?