OpenOrd: an open-source toolbox for large graph layout

Abstract

We document an open-source toolbox for drawing large-scale undirected graphs. This toolbox is based on a previously implemented closed-source algorithm known as VxOrd. Our toolbox, which we call OpenOrd, extends the capabilities of VxOrd to large graph layout by incorporating edge-cutting, a multi-level approach, average-link clustering, and a parallel implementation. At each level, vertices are grouped using force-directed layout and average-link clustering. The clustered vertices are then re-drawn and the process is repeated. When a suitable drawing of the coarsened graph is obtained, the algorithm is reversed to obtain a drawing of the original graph. This approach results in layouts of large graphs which incorporate both local and global structure. A detailed description of the algorithm is provided in this paper. Examples using datasets with over 600K nodes are given. Code is available at www.cs.sandia.gov/~smartin.