A Smart Algorithm for Column Chart Labeling

This paper presents a smart algorithm for labeling column charts and their derivatives. To efficiently solve the problem, we separate it into two sub-problems. We first present a geometric algorithm to solve the problem of finding a good labeling for the labels of a single column, given that some other columns have already been labeled. We then present a strategy for finding a good order in which columns should be labeled, which repeatedly uses the first algorithm for some limited lookahead. The presented algorithm is being used in a commercial product to label charts, and has shown in practice to produce satisfactory results.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: SG
• Authors: Sebastian Müller, Arno Schödl
• Keywords: Algorithm, Columns, SG 2005, Smart Algorithm