Are there any standard algorithms or techniques to create Thinkmap/Constellation-style software

I'm not talking about utilising them to browse my own data set. I'm talking about actually wri开发者_开发问答ting one. Are there algorithms for where the circles move and how they move around slickly and in such a liquid way. If anyone could even point me towards a book or a general area that would be great because I don't know where to start!

You can find examples of each at:

http://asterisq.com/products/constellation/framework/implementations

and

http://www.visualthesaurus.com

What you're looking at is called a force-directed graph. Google for that and you should find some helpful documentation. The math is surprisingly straightforward.

(By munificent on Games Development Stack Exchange)