∞ /notes/zest-graph-view-with-dot-support | 2009-08-09 | graphviz programming eclipse soc zest

Zest graph view with DOT support

Cross-posted to: https://fsteeg.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/zest-graph-view-with-dot-support/

For the final milestone of my Google Summer of Code project at Eclipse, I've added direct image export of Zest graphs via export to DOT and subsequent calling of the local dot executable.

On the API level, the directory containing the Graphviz dot executable and the desired output format are specified with the Zest graph to export. In the UI, once the directory is set in a dialog, the location is stored in the bundle's preferences. This is used in a new Zest Graph view I added with this milestone:

The view listens to *.dot files in the workspace and draws them with Zest. It also provides a button to export the current Zest graph as a PDF, which is stored in the same location as the *.dot file. Further information on the view can be found on the project's Eclipse wiki page.

Besides providing UI for the new direct image export, this view also follows up on the previous milestone (see Drawing Graphviz DOT with Zest). The *.dot files visualized with Zest can be edited manually in an editor, or could be generated by an application (e.g. to visualize data structures).

With the 'pencils down' date of the Google Summer of Code approaching, this completes the actual functionality of my project. Now one more week to wrap it up.