[Ecolab-list] Graph of network visualiser

[Russell S. <r.s...@un...>]

I have just checked in a prototype network/graph visualiser into
EcoLab. You can download the release from
http://aegis.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/aeget/ecolab.4.1.C14/?download=20

(officially it is ecolab.4.1.D3)

You will need the graphviz software installed (www.graphviz.org),
ecolab will fail silently without it if you attempt to visualise a
graph.

Try out the testnetgraph.tcl script in the models directory.

The question I have is whether this is the right approach. I would
like to integrate the graph algorithm more closely into the Tk widget
- currently the graph display is offloaded to the graphviz
executables, and the output captured an fed back into Tk for
display. By closer integration, I could make the graph drawing
interactive, eg running object browser on the nodes of a graphnode
graph. Graphviz supposedly has an API, but its not sufficiently well
documented to be usable.

Possibilities include:
1) Use another graph drawing library (Graphvix appeared to be the best
OSS library i could find)
2) Rip out the necessary routines from Graphviz library (and miss out
on any future improvements).=20
3) Try to program to the existing Graphviz API, and suffer broken
programs in the next release of GraphViz.

Any ideas?

--=20
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A/Prof Russell Standish                  Phone 8308 3119 (mobile)
Mathematics                         	       0425 253119 (")
UNSW SYDNEY 2052         	         R.S...@un...            =20
Australia                                http://parallel.hpc.unsw.edu.au/rks
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