I think you’re looking for a clever application of a “Force-Directed Graph” drawing algorithm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force-directed_graph_drawing There are whole books to this field, but there’s a sample web page with an algorithm done in javascript here: http://getspringy.com -Ken Sent from Windows Mail From: Peter Haworth Sent: Tuesday, 10 February 2015 18:23 To: How to use LiveCode I've managed to get by for many years without the benefit of any formal computer science training but I think I've finally run into a situation which is probably solvable by a computer science algorithm. I want to implement a database diagram feature in my SQLiteAdmin program with a graphic to represent each table and lines connecting tables that have a foreign key relationship. The first challenge was to arrange the tables in a series of levels with the tables that are not referenced in any foreign keys at the top the second level with tables that reference the top level, and so on. That I have figured out with a nice recursive handler. Now I'm faced with the issue of drawing the relationship lines. Currently the tables at each level are arranged in alphabetical order but that pretty much guarantees that a table graphic will not be in the optimal position to be connected to its parent table. For example, I'm looking at a diagram where the table at the top left needs a line drawn to the table at the bottom right. Ideally the table at the bottom right should be placed at the bottom left (or somewhere close) so the connecting line can drawn from it to the table at the top left. I'm guessing there is a computer science algorithm that will place the table graphics in the optimal position for the connection lines to be drawn. Can anyone point me to that algorithm? Pete lcSQL Software <http://www.lcsql.com> Home of lcStackBrowser <http://www.lcsql.com/lcstackbrowser.html> and SQLiteAdmin <http://www.lcsql.com/sqliteadmin.html> _______________________________________________ use-livecode mailing list [email protected] Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode _______________________________________________ use-livecode mailing list [email protected] Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode
