Constrained graph layout

Abstract

Most current graph layout technology does not lend itself to interactive applications such as animation or advanced user interfaces. We introduce the constrained graph layout model which is better suited for interactive applications. In this model, input to the layout module includes suggested positions for nodes and constraints over the node positions in the graph to be laced out. We describe three implementations of layout modules which are based on the constrained graph layout model. The first two implementations are for undirected graph layout and the third is for tree layout. The implementations use active set techniques to solve the layout. Our empirical evaluation shows that they are quite fast and give reasonable layout.