Layout Manager

[Guy Slade]

Hi

This is a general question. I am currently working on a graphical application that enables a user to drop 'blobs' on a Free Form surface and draw connections between them. The blobs represent objects and the connections are relationships between the objects.

I am looking round for a (free) layout manager what is able to take as input the blobs and connections and give back x/y co-ordinates to 'pretty' the diagram up ( i.e least number of crossed connections etc ). Ideally I am after one that is smart enough to also give me x/y co-ords of bendpoints on the connections to further minimize crossed lines.

I have read through what JFreeChart is about and don't think there is much chance of being able to 'extract' something that has the smarts to do what I want.

Please correct me if I am wrong and/or if anyone happens to know of something that sounds like it may be what I am after, point me in the direction of it.

Thanks! Guy

[David Gilbert]

I think what you are after is not so much a layout manager in the Java sense, as a layout algorithm in the 'graph theory' sense. Start your search with:

http://jgraph.sourceforge.net/

They may be able to point you to further resources.

Regards,

DG.