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What would be a good library /tool to auto arrange a complex graph (DAG) like the Blender/Unreal/Houdini node interfaces?

I would expect some options to set constraints, like the first input staying always aligned with the previous node.

Here is one of these DAGs: https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/026/099/2...




Graphviz is the classic option but unfortunately it isn't very good. I mean it was great when it was written in the 80s or whatever but then it seems like it was declared "done" and is still stuck in the 80s.

Quite annoying because it totally dominates the mindshare of graph layout tools, making it difficult to find alternatives.

Here's some other options anyway:

* Eclipse Layout Kernel: https://github.com/eclipse/elk

* OGDF: https://ogdf.uos.de/

In fairness both their websites are pretty terrible (would some examples kill you OGDF?) and they don't provide an easy way to try them out, so I guess it's not that surprising that Graphviz dominates.

Anyway in practice if you have a complex graph then doing it manually is by far the best option.

If it's too big to do manually then it's unlikely to be a useful graph in the first place.




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