Ozan Ersoy

Skeleton-Based Edge Bundling for Graph Visualization

In this paper, we present a novel approach for constructing bundled layouts of general graphs. As layout cues for bundles, we use medial axes, or skeletons, of edges which are similar in terms of position information. We combine edge clustering, distance fields, and 2D skeletonization to construct progressively bundled layouts for general graphs by iteratively attracting edges towards the centerlines of level sets of their distance fields. Apart from clustering, our entire pipeline is image-based with an efficient implementation in graphics hardware. Besides speed and implementation simplicity, our method allows explicit control of the emphasis on structure of the bundled layout, i.e. the creation of strongly branching (organic-like) or smooth bundles. We demonstrate our method on several large real-world graphs.

Image-based edge bundles: simplified visualization of large graphs

We present a new approach aimed at understanding the structure of connections in edge‐bundling layouts. We combine the advantages of edge bundles with a bundle‐centric simplified visual representation of a graphs structure. For this, we first compute a hierarchical edge clustering of a given graph layout which groups similar edges together. Next, we render clusters at a user‐selected level of detail using a new image‐based technique that combines distance‐based splatting and shape skeletonization. The overall result displays a given graph as a small set of overlapping shaded edge bundles. Luminance, saturation, hue, and shading encode edge density, edge types, and edge similarity. Finally, we add brushing and a new type of semantic lens to help navigation where local structures overlap. We illustrate the proposed method on several real‐world graph datasets.

Graph Bundling by Kernel Density Estimation

We present a fast and simple method to compute bundled layouts of general graphs. For this, we first transform a given graph drawing into a density map using kernel density estimation. Next, we apply an image sharpening technique which progressively merges local height maxima by moving the convolved graph edges into the height gradient flow. Our technique can be easily and efficiently implemented using standard graphics acceleration techniques and produces graph bundlings of similar appearance and quality to state‐of‐the‐art methods at a fraction of the cost. Additionally, we show how to create bundled layouts constrained by obstacles and use shading to convey information on the bundling quality. We demonstrate our method on several large graphs.

MoleView: An Attribute and Structure-Based Semantic Lens for Large Element-Based Plots

We present MoleView, a novel technique for interactive exploration of multivariate relational data. Given a spatial embedding of the data, in terms of a scatter plot or graph layout, we propose a semantic lens which selects a specific spatial and attribute-related data range. The lens keeps the selected data in focus unchanged and continuously deforms the data out of the selection range in order to maintain the context around the focus. Specific deformations include distance-based repulsion of scatter plot points, deforming straight-line node-link graph drawings, and as varying the simplification degree of bundled edge graph layouts. Using a brushing-based technique, we further show the applicability of our semantic lens for scenarios requiring a complex selection of the zones of interest. Our technique is simple to implement and provides real-time performance on large datasets. We demonstrate our technique with actual data from air and road traffic control, medical imaging, and software comprehension applications.

Bundled Visualization of DynamicGraph and Trail Data

Depicting change captured by dynamic graphs and temporal paths, or trails, is hard. We present two techniques for simplified visualization of such data sets using edge bundles. The first technique uses an efficient image-based bundling method to create smoothly changing bundles from streaming graphs. The second technique adds edge-correspondence data atop of any static bundling algorithm, and is best suited for graph sequences. We show how these techniques can produce simplified visualizations of streaming and sequence graphs. Next, we show how several temporal attributes can be added atop of our dynamic graphs. We illustrate our techniques with data sets from aircraft monitoring, software engineering, and eye-tracking of static and dynamic scenes.

Extraction and visualization of call dependencies for large C/C++ code bases: A comparative study

Investigating program dependencies such as function calls is challenging for very large systems. We present here an integrated pipeline for extraction and visualization of call-and-hierarchy graphs for C/C++ programs. We present several adaptions and enhancements of a recent visualization method for large call graphs and compare its effectiveness with classical node-link diagrams. Examples are given on large real-world code bases such as bison, Mozilla and oink.

The Solid* toolset for software visual analytics of program structure and metrics comprehension: From research prototype to product

Software visual analytics (SVA) tools combine static program analysis and fact extraction with information visualization to support program comprehension. However, building efficient and effective SVA tools is highly challenging, as it involves extensive software development in program analysis, graphics, information visualization, and interaction. We present a SVA toolset for software maintenance, and detail two of its components which target software structure, metrics and code duplication. We illustrate the toolsets usage for constructing software visualizations with examples in education, research, and industrial contexts. We discuss the design evolution from research prototypes to integrated, scalable, and easy-to-use products, and present several guidelines for the development of efficient and effective SVA solutions.

Smooth bundling of large streaming and sequence graphs

Dynamic graphs are increasingly pervasive in modern information systems. However, understanding how a graph changes in time is difficult. We present here two techniques for simplified visualization of dynamic graphs using edge bundles. The first technique uses a recent image-based graph bundling method to create smoothly changing bundles from streaming graphs. The second technique incorporates additional edge-correspondence data and is thereby suited to visualize discrete graph sequences. We illustrate our methods with examples from real-world large dynamic graph datasets.

Visual Analytics in Software Maintenance : Challenges and Opportunities

Visual analytics (VA) is an emerging science at the crossroads of data and information visualization, graphics, data mining, and knowledge representation, with many successful applications in engineering, business and finance, security, geosciences, and e-governance and health. Tools using visualization, data mining, and data analysis are also prominently present in a different field: software maintenance. However, an integrated VA is relatively new for this field. In this paper, we discuss the specific challenges and particularities of applying VA in software engineering, highlight the added value of a VA approach, as distilled by us from several large-scale software engineering industrial projects.