METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR GENERAL SOLUTION OF THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL LAYOUT PROBLEM BY REDUCTION TO A SINGLE-SOURCE PATH-LENGTH PROBLEM ON A WEIGHTED GRAPH

摘要

Disclosed are apparatus and methods for generating displays based on a layout. A layout is received that specifies a set of rectangular components within a container rectangle. Each rectangular component has a size. A plurality of grid lines is determined from the layout. Each rectangular component is associated with at least two grid lines that are based on the size of the rectangular component. A system of constraints is generated that includes a minimum constraint and a maximum constraint. Each constraint is related to at least two grid lines of the plurality of grid lines. The minimum and maximum constraints respectively specify a minimum and a maximum value between at least two grid lines. The system of constraints is solved to determine a location for each grid line. A display of the rectangular components is generated based on the locations of the grid lines.