Pie charts: titles and data labels

简介 / Introduction

Pie charts visualize proportions of parts against a whole and are a staple of data visualization. This article compares PlantUML and Mermaid syntax for drawing pie charts with titles and data labels.

PlantUML version

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@startuml
title Software Project Duration Distribution

skinparam titleFontSize 14
skinparam legendFontSize 12

skinparam pieTitleFontSize 16
skinparam pieTitleFontColor blue

skinparam pieVerticalLabelPosition 2
skinparam pieElementFontSize 11
skinparam pieElementFontColor black
skinparam pieBorderThickness 1

legend right
  <color:blue>**Duration Distribution**</color>
  Development 45%
  Testing 25%
  Deployment 15%
  Documentation 15%
endlegend
@enduml

PlantUML uses title, a legend block, and multiple skinparam directives to control the title and labels. Data labels are embedded inside the legend rather than rendered directly on the chart.

Mermaid version

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pie title Software Project Duration Distribution
    "Development" : 45
    "Testing" : 25
    "Deployment" : 15
    "Documentation" : 15

Mermaid’s syntax is minimal: pie + title + a list of key-value pairs. The title sits directly after the pie keyword with no extra skinparam needed.

对比 / Side-by-side

小结 / Wrap-up

PlantUML pie charts offer fine-grained control over fonts, colors, and legend placement — ideal when you need precise styling. Mermaid wins on brevity: one title line plus key-value pairs produces a clean chart immediately. Choose based on your team’s styling needs and chart complexity.