Graph Description Language (GDL)  

GDL is an ASCII text representation of a graph. It describes a graph in terms of nodes, edges, subgraphs and attributes. A subgraph is described as a normal graph except that it is specified inside another graph, meaning graph specifications can be nested. aiSee provides special operations for subgraphs such as folding to a summary node, boxing, clustering, or wrapping.

» Example graphs: 12 random graphs Trees and similar Force-directed layout Subgraph nesting Manhattan Layout Software visualization Time diagrams Web related Graphs with 100+ nodes  GDL GIFSVGPNG PS

Graphs, nodes and edges may have attributes that specify details of their appearance on the screen such as colors, sizes, shapes etc.

There is always only one top-level graph.

It is also possible to specify regions that are to be initially folded after starting aiSee.

aiSee also accepts the #line directives of the C preprocessor. The macro processing facilities of the C preprocessor offers some tricky possibilities for graph specifications. For example, using a macro directive would enable different languages for node labels to be chosen. 

• Graph Format
• Node Format
• Edge Format
  • Ordinary Edge Format
  • Back Edge Format
  • Near Edge Format
    • Left Near Edge Format
    • Right Near Edge Format
  • Bent Near Edge Format
    • Left Bent Near Edge Format
    • Right Bent Near Edge Format
• Attribute Format
  • Default Node and Edge Attributes
  • Default Summary Node and Edge Attributes
• Region Format
• Examples of GDL Specifications
  • A Cyclic Graph
  • Control Flow Graph
  • The Effect of the Layout Algorithms
  • Tree Layout
  • Combination of Features
• Graph Attributes
• Node Attributes
• Edge Attributes
• Colors
• Icons and Additional Fonts
  • Icons
  • Fonts
• User Action
• Character Set
• Remarks
• GDL's Grammar
• Animations