Clustered edge routing

Abstract

The classic method to depict graphs is a node-link diagram where vertices (nodes) are associated with each object and edges (links) connect related objects. However, node-link diagrams quickly appear cluttered and unclear, even for moderately sized graphs. If the positions of the nodes are fixed then suitable link routing is the only option to reduce clutter. We present a novel link clustering and routing algorithm which respects (and if desired refines) user-defined clusters on links. If no clusters are defined a priori we cluster based on geometric criteria, that is, based on a well-separated pair decomposition (WSPD).We route link clusters individually on a sparse visibility spanner. To completely avoid ambiguity we draw each individual link and ensure that clustered links follow the same path in the routing graph. We prove that the clusters induced by the WSPD consist of compatible links according to common similarity measures as formalized by Holten and van Wijk [17]. The greedy sparsification of the visibility graph allows us to easily route around obstacles. Our experimental results are visually appealing and convey a sense of abstraction and order.