Introduction and Layout Algorithm
Treemap is a space-filling visualization for hierarchical structures. It is particularly effective in revealing attributes of leaf nodes using size and color coding. Treemaps enable users to compare sizes of nodes and of sub-trees, and can reveal patterns and exceptions.
Treemap 4.0 implements three Layout Algorithms:
- Slice And Dice - Stable and ordered, but poor aspect ratio. It can generate long skinny rectangles.
- Squarified - Best aspect ratios, Unordered, medium stability. The nodes will move when the size changes.
- Strip - Ordered, pretty good aspect ratios with some exception, medium stability. The nodes move, but not as often as in Squarified Algorithm.
You will find that the best choice of algorithm will depend largely on your data and tasks, so try all three versions using the menu in the "Main" tab.
For more information on algorithms and the history of Treemap:
Treemap 3: http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/treemap3
Treemap History: http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/treemaps