# Program for mathematical maps

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/program-for-mathematical-maps/212174>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 9, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/program-for-mathematical-maps/212174 "2003-11-09T03:38:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dakravel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@dakravel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakravel)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/program-for-mathematical-maps/212174/1 "2003-11-09T03:38:02Z")

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At least I think that’s what I want. I want a program that can produce a map if I give it a series of nodes and to which nodes each node is connected to. Did that make sense at all? Basically, I have this graphical map with a buncha connections, and I want to convert it to a form so I can easily place particular things in each node to form the right patterns. Anyone know something that would help me?  
If something is unclear, please ask me to clarify.

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**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/program-for-mathematical-maps/212174/2 "2003-11-09T05:49:32Z")

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Something like [this](http://www.tomsawyer.com/glt/) ?

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**Author:** ![dakravel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@dakravel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakravel)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/program-for-mathematical-maps/212174/3 "2003-11-09T06:19:39Z")

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Wow, yeah, that’s technically what I need, but at $200 a license, I don’t think I need it that badly :(. Anything else similar, but with a less hefty price tag?

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**Author:** ![dakravel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@dakravel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakravel)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/program-for-mathematical-maps/212174/4 "2003-11-09T06:22:17Z")

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Ah, I just found the demo, cool, thanks a lot Darren ^\_^.

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**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/program-for-mathematical-maps/212174/5 "2003-11-09T15:28:36Z")

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The sort of program you’re searching for is called a graph visualization program. That may help you search.

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**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/program-for-mathematical-maps/212174/6 "2003-11-09T18:17:54Z")

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I got good results using [Graphviz](http://www.graphviz.org). You probably want to download the Windows executable from the [official download page](http://www.research.att.com/sw/tools/graphviz/download.html).

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**Author:** ![gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb8c5e/32.png) [@gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gentle)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/program-for-mathematical-maps/212174/7 "2003-11-09T23:21:19Z")

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I second the recommendation for Graphviz (aka dot). It’s free.