Dr. L provides two-dimensional visualizations of very large abstract graph structures. it can be used for data mining applications including biology, scientific literature, and social network analysis. Dr. L is a graph layout program that uses a multilevel force-directed algorithm. A graph is input and drawn using a force-directed algorithm based on simulated annealing. The resulting layout is clustered using a single link algorithm. This clustering is used to produce a coarsened graph (fewer nodes) which is then re-drawn. this process is repeated until a sufficiently small graph is produced. The smallest graph is drawn and then used as a basis for drawing the original graph by refining the series of coarsened graphs that were produced. The layout engine can be run in serial or in parallel.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Martin et al. (2007) studied this question.