swing - Cytoscape like tools in java to build a graph

Question

I need to build graphs as part of a project requirement. Suppose, I have my inputs specified in the format as below.

Bill gates founded Microsoft.

I need to represent the above as node representations pictorially(node1 can be Bill gates and node2 can be Microsoft). I came across cytoscape, a tool used for representing molecular interactions effectively. It allows the user to create new plugins and simply add them in the application. However, my requirement is more like getting the input from user and building the graph based on that. For example, my inputs will be as below.

Enter node1: Bill Gates Enter node2: Microsoft

I need to show the above as a graph representation. Kindly let me know on how to go about it. I will be representing a huge graph. (i.e.) My input may contain around 50k nodes and edges. So I prefer some graph building tool which has some predefined format for accepting the input.

So, basically I will be accepting the input from users and convert them to the format that the graph building tool is using and display the graph from the tool in the java console or user interface.

Let me know if you need more details.

Answer 1

A lot depends on the level at which you plan to address this problem. Larger libraries are more powerful, but they typically have a steeper learning curve. Here are some approaches to consider:

• JHotDraw, cited here, is a meta-library for creating custom graph editors.

• Prefuse, demonstrated here, supports graph modeling, visualization, and interaction.

• GraphViz, examined here, is a graph visualization library developed by AT&T.

• JGraph, linked here, is a popular graph visualization library.

• GraphPanel, illustrated here, shows a very basic graph editing panel.