About mfGraph Library

mfGraph is a graph rendering library for interactive applications. Written in C++ and Python, mfGraph parses GraphViz DOT and XDOT files and provides rendering and hit-testing facilities. Supports Microsoft Windows natively, GNU/Linux through wxPython.

Target Audience

This is the kind of client application I had in mind when writing the mfGraph library:

• An application that needs to visualize data using graphs (not so much a "graph editor", i.e., something like Visio or UML modelling software, but not excluding this kind of application either)
• An application that needs automatic layouting capabilities
• An application in which the user interacts with the graph (e.g., the user clicks an edge to view details about the network connection that it represents)
• A Microsoft Windows application or a wxPython application

Features

mfGraph Features:

• An object model for manipulating graphs and their attributes

• As a serialization format, the GraphViz DOT language is used

• The DOT tool can be used to calculate the layout, then mfGraph is used to build a list of primitive drawing commands by interpreting the XDOT attributes
• For each platform, all that is needed are basic drawing functions (text, lines, ellipses, Bezier curves, and the like) to do the actual rendering
• Zooming and hit-testing are supported

Related Libraries

I started the mfGraph project because I did not find an existing library or application that suited all my needs:

• Of those libraries that contain a DOT parser, none interprets the XDOT drawing commands

• Some libraries are using AT&T's original DOT parser, which is distributed under a license that is incompatible with the GNU GPL

• None of the libraries targets wxPython

• Many applications that use GraphViz merely display graphs as bitmaps; they do not know which pixel on the screen corresponds to which graph primitive

Project Progress

This has already been implemented:

• C++ part
• Windows: GDI rendering, MFC integration, and a VCL component for C++Builder
• wxPython: Demo "graph viewer" application

This needs to be done:

• Write a class "wxMfgraph" derived from wxWindow, similar to the already written VCL component; integrating graph rendering capabilities should be possible with less than 10 lines of code
• Sort out differences between wxPython on Windows and wxGTK
• Keep the library up-to-date with new versions of the supported platforms/libraries

• Find ways to share code with the wxWidgets and KGraphViewer projects

Project Details

Technical Details:

Links

• The Story Behind mfGraph