Drawing lattices with a geometric heuristic

Abstract

Lattices play an important role in many areas of computer science and applied mathematics. The information, extracted from data in data analysis or operated with in intelligent systems, is usually represented by hierarchical structures, where relationships are described by lattices. To visualize the information, one needs to visualize lattices. We mention the existing methods of automated drawing of lattices and focus on the geometric method introduced by Wille et al. Diagrams drawn by the geometric method achieve a good level of readability and aesthetic criteria while satisfying common conventions and constraints, even for larger lattices. We discuss several questions regarding the method and show the diagram drawings produced by two software programs developed at Dept. Computer Science, Palacky University, Czech Republic.