Fast generation of planar graphs

Abstract

The program plantri is the fastest isomorph-free generator of many classes of planar graphs, including triangulations, quadrangulations, and convex polytopes. Many applications in the natural sciences as well as in mathematics have appeared. This paper describes plantri's principles of operation, the basis for its efficiency, and the recursive algorithms behind many of its capabilities. In addition, we give many counts of isomorphism classes of planar graphs compiled using plantri. These include triangulations, quadrangulations, convex polytopes, several classes of cubic and quartic graphs, and triangulations of disks.