Tag-Cloud Drawing: Algorithms for Cloud Visualization

TL;DR

This paper introduces new algorithms for visualizing tag clouds that improve layout and relationship representation, using models inspired by typesetting, rectangle packing, and electronic design automation, with demonstrated efficiency and performance.

Contribution

It presents novel algorithms for tag cloud visualization that consider tag relationships and improve layout quality beyond traditional in-line HTML methods.

Findings

Algorithms are efficiently implementable.

Algorithms perform well in experiments.

Enhanced visualization of tag relationships.

Abstract

Tag clouds provide an aggregate of tag-usage statistics. They are typically sent as in-line HTML to browsers. However, display mechanisms suited for ordinary text are not ideal for tags, because font sizes may vary widely on a line. As well, the typical layout does not account for relationships that may be known between tags. This paper presents models and algorithms to improve the display of tag clouds that consist of in-line HTML, as well as algorithms that use nested tables to achieve a more general 2-dimensional layout in which tag relationships are considered. The first algorithms leverage prior work in typesetting and rectangle packing, whereas the second group of algorithms leverage prior work in Electronic Design Automation. Experiments show our algorithms can be efficiently implemented and perform well.