Automatic Graph Drawing is concerned with the layout of relational structures as they occur in Computer Science (Data Base Design, Data Mining, Web Mining), Bioinformatics (Metabolic Networks), Businessinformatics (Organization Diagrams, Event Driven Process Chains), or the Social Sciences (Social Networks).

In mathematical terms, such relational structures are modeled as graphs or more general objects such as hypergraphs, clustered graphs, or compound graphs. A variety of layout algorithms that are based on graph theoretical foundations have been developed in the last two decades and implemented in software systems.

After an introduction to the subject area and a concise treatment of the technical foundations for the subsequent chapters, this book features 14 chapters on state-of-the-art graph drawing software systems, ranging from general "tool boxes'' to customized software for various applications. These chapters are written by leading experts, they follow a uniform scheme and can be read independently from each other.