The first component will be a 2D grid backed by functionality facilitating the plotting of vertices and edges on the grid. This component will further require the user to specify which edge should be on top at each edge crossing in order to specify a spatial embedding for the graph. With the requisite elements of the graph's spatial embedding specified, the grid will in all intents and purposes represent the embedding's XY projection.
The second component of TopPlot will take as input a graph embdding's XY projection as specified using the first component and realize it in 3 dimensions. The full set of capabilities for this component are yet to be finalized (and will most likely be somewhat fluid as the project progresses throughout the semester) but some initial features identified as being useful to the end user are:
- Functionality to navigate (fly) through the graph's spatial embedding.
- Functionality to facilitate direct manipulation of edges and vertices.
- Functionality for the visualizer to somehow compensate for important embedding elements that may be hidden, such as hidden vertices, or hidden edge crossings.
Much of TopPlot's first component has already been developed as a prototype while working with Dr. Mellor in Loyola Marymount's Math department. The prototype's code is, however, quite messy, and given that TopPlot's code will be handed over to others (probably Dr. Mellor) for maintenance and potentially further development following this semester (and may in fact be open sourced) I've elected to rewrite a good portion of the prototype code.
This past weekend I began rewriting it. To those who have access to my CVS repository in the Keck lab (I'm talking to you Dondi), the source is located in the TopPlot module.
Much more detail will be included in my next post...
Loren
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