A browsing interface for exploring constraints in visualization rules

We built a prototype tool for browsing constraint systems for the layout of graphical objects. It has two views: In one view, the tool visualizes a constraint system as a three-dimensional graph structure, which shows the overall structure of the constraint system. The viewer can change the layout to focus on the part of constraints. The other view shows the target diagram. It also animates the diagram to show degrees of freedom in the constraints for the diagram. The cartoon technique of deforming graphical objects is utilized to depict whether a graphical object has a degree of freedom or not.