CODEWITHSUNDEEP
rdotdiagrammerneator-graphviz
mccoy
mccoy

Reputation: 13

Creating a network graph with set node positions and concentrated edges with both circleheads and arrowheads in R

I've been trying to find a way to replicate the following network graph format in R using DiagrammeR/GraphViz, but without success (ignore the thick black arrow on N1): https://i.sstatic.net/oHpQz.png

The graph is a directed graph and each edge in a certain direction either ends with an arrowhead (-->) if the edge value is positive, or a circle/odot (--o) if the edge value is negative. Between a pair of nodes (ex. N1 -- A1), there can be an edge N1 --> A1 and an edge A1 --o N1, and these need to be concentrated so that the two edges look like one line with an arrowhead on one end and a circlehead on the opposite end (like this: o--->). These cannot be parallel or look like two edges ideally.

Another requirement is that the nodes have to be in very specific positions and remain there throughout model simulations where edges might change. From what I have tried and the documentation I have read, this is not possible to do in DOT format, but is possible in neato format.

This is where I get a problem. In neato, I can align the nodes exactly where I want them by defining their x,y positions. However, when I use concentrate = true to create the o---> edge from two otherwise parallel edges, only one type of arrowhead remains. So an edge that's supposed to look like o---> ends up looking like ---> or o---.

This is not a problem in DOT format as concentrate = true does what I want it to do, but in DOT I cannot assign exact node positions. I have tried getting around this using node ranks but without much luck. It seems to stack nodes I want in different ranks within the same rank. As well, concentrate = true doesn't seem to work for edges between nodes within the same rank, as it leaves them as two separate curved edges ---> and o--- without concentrating them.

The reason why I need this to work is because I'm running model simulations where the edges change, and I need to generate hundreds of such graphs. For easy comparison, the nodes need to stay in the same place for consistency.

This is the closest I could come up with using neato format (nodes are positioned the way I want but it's not showing the proper o---> for all the black edges minus self-edges; red edges are true one-way links): https://i.sstatic.net/YJBY7.jpg

If only the edges showed up as the proper o---> format, this would be perfect for my needs. If you know of any way to fix this issue using DiagrammeR/GraphViz, or even another program, I would be so grateful. Thanks!

Upvotes: 1

Views: 514

Answers (1)

sroush
sroush

Reputation: 6763

You probably don't need concentrate. Look at arrowtail and dir (https://www.graphviz.org/doc/info/attrs.html#d:arrowtail and https://www.graphviz.org/doc/info/attrs.html#d:dir) and neato -n

digraph c {
  graph[label="can neato do the work?"]
  node[shape=circle]
  a [pos="100,100"]
  b [pos="200,100"]
  c [pos="300,100"]
  a->b [dir=both arrowtail=odot]
  c->c [dir=both arrowtail=odot arrowhead=none]
}

Giving: enter image description here

Upvotes: 1

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