System and method based on an object-oriented software design framework for displaying constrained graphical layouts

摘要

A system and method for use in the design of software applications in which constrained graphs are displayed, implemented in accordance with an object-oriented software design framework. According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a software system comprising a first subgraph class that can be extended to define a plurality of second subgraph classes, where an instance of each second subgraph class represents a subgraph of a specific subgraph type, where each second subgraph class implements methods for repositioning the graphical elements of a subgraph represented by an instance thereof within the graph and determining affected subgraphs, displaying the graphical elements of a subgraph represented by an instance thereof to the user in a specified layout format, and commanding a repositioning and display of the graphical elements of the affected subgraphs. A first layout manager class that can be extended to define one or more second layout manager classes is also provided, where an instance of each second layout manager class represents a layout manager and implements methods for identifying the subgraphs in the graph, determining a selected subgraph to be repositioned, and commanding a repositioning and display of the graphical elements of the selected subgraph. The layout manager is thereby adapted to identify the subgraphs in a constrained graph, and to initiate the repositioning and display of the graphical elements of various subgraphs in the graph by commanding the repositioning and display of the graphical elements of the selected subgraph.