This software tool will be based on automatic graph drawing methods that in part will be developed within the project, tailor-made for the requirements and visual customs of users from biochemistry. We first solved the problem of sorting incoming and outgoing edges in the drawings while still trying to minimize the number of edge crossings. For this, the planarization approach was adjusted.

Because of the network size, it is also important to allow to focus on certain subnetworks specified by the user. In this context, we have to be able to draw certain subgraphs according to special restrictions and to integrate them into the overall drawing. Again, we aim at minimizing the number of edge crossings in the drawing subject to the restrictions. For cyclic substructures, we have already realized this approach, while currently we are trying to extend it to arbitrary subgraphs.

Another main topic within the project is the simultaneous drawing of two or more networks. Whereever the graphs agree, they should be drawn in exactly the same way. The problem is to obtain such simultaneous drawings while taking other aesthetic criteria into account. Again, we will mainly investigate the crossing minimization problem. In this context, interesting questions of a more theoretical nature arise, e.g., we examine the question whether given planar graphs can be drawn simultaneously without edge crossings. We could show that this problem is NP-complete for three or more graphs.

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