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Programmatically avoid Activities during Connection Creation [message #1694650]

Wed, 06 May 2015 20:20

Mike Sherry

Messages: 3
Registered: May 2015

Junior Member

I am attempting to import an existing xpdl and recreate the diagram. The problem is the xpdl's are missing bendpoint information for the connections.

I am programmatically creating connections between activities, but my connections are going through other activities. Is it possible to have the connection avoid touching other activities?

I am hoping there is an automated routing algorithm already in place. If not possibly adding bend points automatically to avoid activities.

Example: I would like the flow from "Task" to "End" not go through "Task2"
index.php/fa/21731/0/

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

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Re: Programmatically avoid Activities during Connection Creation [message #1694747 is a reply to message #1694650]

Thu, 07 May 2015 14:15

Robert Brodt

Messages: 811
Registered: August 2010
Location: Colorado Springs, CO

Senior Member

Hi Mike,

Connection routing is not an easy problem to solve - I speak from experience Wink

GEF does support a Manhattan Connection router, but I don't think it is fully supported in Graphiti. And even that router does not do any kind of collision detection - it just ensures that all line segments are orthogonal, so what you get is something like this:

http://content.screencast.com/users/BobBrodt/folders/Jing/media/6d508967-1a33-4cc4-9dbf-8806dec6d5de/2015-05-07_0813.png

I found that if you want proper connection routing you'll have to do the collision detection and line crossing analysis yourself, and add bendpoints as necessary.

Cheers,
Bob

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Re: Programmatically avoid Activities during Connection Creation [message #1694748 is a reply to message #1694747]

Thu, 07 May 2015 14:15

Robert Brodt

Messages: 811
Registered: August 2010
Location: Colorado Springs, CO

Senior Member

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Re: Programmatically avoid Activities during Connection Creation [message #1694812 is a reply to message #1694650]

Fri, 08 May 2015 07:31

Michael Wenz

Messages: 1899
Registered: July 2009
Location: Walldorf, Germany

Senior Member

Mike,

Graphiti itself does not bring any connection routing, but it allows
embedding any existing layouting algorithms provided by other libraries.
There are existing specialised libraries like e.g. from the KIELER project
(https://www.informatik.uni-kiel.de/rtsys/kieler/) or commercial
implementations like yFiles. Also GEF comes with a basic routing
implementation as Robert already wrote. Graphiti does not bring on own one
simply because that is a complex topic and there are specialized solutions
out there.

An example how to integrate any layouting library can be found here (for the
GEF router):
http://www.eclipse.org/graphiti/developers/faq.php (question2)

HTH,
Michael

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