Compute Graph Layout

Computes node coordinates for graph visualization using specified layout algorithm. If the graph has not been built yet, it will be built automatically before computing the layout.

Usage

caugi_layout(
  x,
  method = c("auto", "sugiyama", "fruchterman-reingold", "kamada-kawai", "bipartite",
    "tiered", "circle"),
  packing_ratio = 1.618034,
  ...
)

Source

Fruchterman, T. M. J., & Reingold, E. M. (1991). Graph drawing by force-directed placement. Software: Practice and Experience, 21(11), 1129-1164. doi:10.1002/spe.4380211102

Kamada, T., & Kawai, S. (1989). An algorithm for drawing general undirected graphs. Information Processing Letters, 31(1), 7-15. doi:10.1016/0020-0190(89)90102-6

Sugiyama, K., Tagawa, S., & Toda, M. (1981). Methods for visual understanding of hierarchical system structures. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 11(2), 109-125. doi:10.1109/TSMC.1981.4308636

Arguments

x

A caugi object. Must contain only directed edges for Sugiyama layout.

method

Character string specifying the layout method. Options:

• "auto": Automatically choose the best layout (default). Selection order:

  1. If tiers is provided, uses "tiered"

  2. If partition is provided, uses "bipartite"

  3. If graph has only directed edges, uses "sugiyama"

  4. Otherwise, uses "fruchterman-reingold"

• "sugiyama": Hierarchical layout for DAGs (requires only directed edges)

• "fruchterman-reingold": Fast spring-electrical layout (works with all edge types)

• "kamada-kawai": High-quality stress minimization (works with all edge types)

• "bipartite": Bipartite layout (requires partition parameter)

• "tiered": Multi-tier layout (requires tiers parameter)

• "circle": Place nodes evenly along a circle

packing_ratio

Aspect ratio for packing disconnected components (width/height). Default is the golden ratio (1.618) which works well with widescreen displays. Use 1.0 for square grid, 2.0 for wider layouts, 0.5 for taller layouts, Inf for single row, or 0.0 for single column.

...

Additional arguments passed to the specific layout function. For bipartite layouts, use partition (logical vector) and orientation ("columns" or "rows"). For tiered layouts, use tiers (list, named vector, or data.frame) and orientation ("rows" or "columns").

Value

A data.frame with columns name, x, and y containing node names and their coordinates.

Layout Algorithms

Sugiyama (Hierarchical Layout)

Optimized for directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). Places nodes in layers to emphasize hierarchical structure and causal flow from top to bottom. Edges are routed to minimize crossings. Best for visualizing clear cause-effect relationships. Only works with directed edges.

Fruchterman-Reingold (Spring-Electrical)

Fast force-directed layout using a spring-electrical model. Treats edges as springs and nodes as electrically charged particles. Produces organic, symmetric layouts with uniform edge lengths. Good for general-purpose visualization and works with all edge types. Results are deterministic.

Kamada-Kawai (Stress Minimization)

High-quality force-directed layout that minimizes "stress" by making Euclidean distances proportional to graph-theoretic distances. Better preserves the global structure and path lengths compared to Fruchterman-Reingold. Ideal for publication-quality visualizations where accurate distance representation matters. Works with all edge types and produces deterministic results.

Circle

Places nodes evenly along the perimeter of a circle. The first node is at the top and subsequent nodes proceed counter-clockwise. Useful for small graphs, cycle visualization, and as a deterministic fallback. Works with all edge types and ignores edge structure.

See also

Other plotting: add-caugi_plot-caugi_plot, caugi_layout_bipartite(), caugi_layout_circle(), caugi_layout_fruchterman_reingold(), caugi_layout_kamada_kawai(), caugi_layout_sugiyama(), caugi_layout_tiered(), caugi_plot(), divide-caugi_plot-caugi_plot, plot()

Examples

cg <- caugi(
  A %-->% B + C,
  B %-->% D,
  C %-->% D,
  class = "DAG"
)

# Default: auto-selects best layout
layout <- caugi_layout(cg)

# Auto-selects tiered when tiers provided
cg_tiered <- caugi(X1 %-->% M1, X2 %-->% M2, M1 %-->% Y, M2 %-->% Y)
tiers <- list(c("X1", "X2"), c("M1", "M2"), "Y")
layout_auto <- caugi_layout(cg_tiered, tiers = tiers) # Uses "tiered"

# Explicitly use hierarchical layout
layout_sug <- caugi_layout(cg, method = "sugiyama")

# Use force-directed for organic appearance
layout_fr <- caugi_layout(cg, method = "fruchterman-reingold")

# Use stress minimization for publication quality
layout_kk <- caugi_layout(cg, method = "kamada-kawai")

# Place nodes on a circle
layout_circle <- caugi_layout(cg, method = "circle")

# Bipartite layout with auto-detected partition
cg_bp <- caugi(A %-->% X, A %-->% Y, B %-->% X, B %-->% Y)
layout_bp_rows <- caugi_layout(
  cg_bp,
  method = "bipartite",
  orientation = "rows"
)

# Explicit partition
partition <- c(TRUE, TRUE, FALSE, FALSE)
layout_bp_cols <- caugi_layout(
  cg_bp,
  method = "bipartite",
  partition = partition,
  orientation = "columns"
)

# Tiered layout with three tiers
cg_tiered <- caugi(
  X1 %-->% M1 + M2,
  X2 %-->% M1 + M2,
  M1 %-->% Y,
  M2 %-->% Y
)
tiers <- list(c("X1", "X2"), c("M1", "M2"), "Y")
layout_tiered <- caugi_layout(
  cg_tiered,
  method = "tiered",
  tiers = tiers,
  orientation = "rows"
)