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I have a complex non-binary graph model.
Each tree node can have multiple children&parents (a node can also have a connection to it's "brother").

A node is represented as square on screen with lines to the connected nodes.
For that I want to use Draw2D and GEF libraries.

The problem I am facing is the graph layout.

I need a nice algorithm that can reposition the square nodes and the connections with minimum intersections and also make it symmetric as possible.

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    If a node has multiple parents, it is not a tree.
    – ftr
    Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 13:38
  • 4
    Have you looked into GraphViz? graphviz.org
    – FrustratedWithFormsDesigner
    Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 13:39
  • @ftr yes, it's graph.
    – mariki
    Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 13:47
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    JUNG is a graph visualization framework for Java, but I don't know how well it fits into your technology stack. jung.sourceforge.net
    – ftr
    Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 13:52
  • If there are parents, children and siblings, must the siblings be aligned along an axis? Are there any restrictions at all visually? Aside from minimum intersections? Is distance between connections a factor?
    – AlexMA
    Commented Apr 18, 2012 at 2:42

1 Answer 1

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Your parent-child relation probably creates a partial order. Google "partial order graph layout" and top hits mention things like "Coffman–Graham algorithm" and "Hasse diagrams." Maybe some research in those directions would be productive.

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