[Algorithms] Compose rectangles within another rectangle

[Arno G. <ar...@ag...>]

Hi,

I am looking for an algorithm that can help me to compose a number of 
rectangles, with different sizes, within a bigger rectangle. So I want 
to pack them most efficiently within the bigger rectangle. Does anybody 
know the best approach to this, except for just trial and error.

The background is that I want to compose a big texture sheet from a 
collection of smaller texture pieces automaticaly.

-- 
Arno