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# Geneagrapher
Geneagrapher is a tool for extracting information from the
[Mathematics Geanealogy
Project](https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/) to form a
geneagraphy. The output is a dot file, which can be used by
[Graphviz](https://graphviz.org/) to visualize the tree.
## Basic Concepts
The input to the Geneagrapher is a set of starting nodes. If you want
to build the ancestor graph of C. Felix Klein, then C. Felix Klein is
the starting node for that graph. Multiple starting nodes may be
provided (to produce the combined ancestor graph for an academic
department, for instance).
Each individual stored in the Mathematics Genealogy Project's website
has a unique integer as an identifier, and this identifier is what is
passed to the Geneagrapher for starting nodes. The identifier is
embedded in the URL for records in the Mathematics Genealogy Project
website. For example, [Carl
Gauß](https://genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=18231) is ID
18231 and [Leonhard
Euler](https://genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=38586) is ID
38586.
Before running the Geneagrapher, go to the [Mathematics Genealogy
Project](https://genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/) and gather the
identifiers of the starting nodes for the graph you have in mind.
## Geneagrapher Usage
After installing the Geneagrapher, running
```
ggrapher --help
```
should produce
```
usage: ggrapher [-h] [--version] [-f FILE] [-a] [-d] [--disable-cache]
[--cache-file FILE] [-v]
ID [ID ...]
Create a Graphviz "dot" file for a mathematics genealogy, where ID is a record
identifier from the Mathematics Genealogy Project. Multiple IDs may be passed.
positional arguments:
ID mathematician record ID
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version show program's version number and exit
-f FILE, --file FILE write output to FILE [default: stdout]
-a, --with-ancestors retrieve ancestors of IDs and include in graph
-d, --with-descendants
retrieve descendants of IDs and include in graph
--disable-cache do not store records in local cache
--cache-file FILE write cache to FILE [default: geneacache]
-v, --verbose list nodes being retrieved
```
Explanations of some of the options are given below, followed by
examples.
**-f FILE, --file=FILE**
By default, the Geneagrapher writes the data it generates to standard
output. If you want the data written to file, you need to redirect the
output or use the `-f` or `--file` switch. When one of these switches
is used, the data is saved in the file name provided.
**-a, --with-ancestors**
When one of these switches is provided to the Geneagrapher, an
ancestor graph is generated. An ancestor graph starts with the
starting nodes and the works up to their advisors, their advisors'
advisors, and so on.
**-d, --with-descendants**
These switches instruct the Geneagrapher to extract information about
the descendants of the starting nodes (i.e., their advisees, their
advisees' advisees, and so on).
## Processing the Dot File
To process the generated dot file,
[Graphviz](https://www.graphviz.org/) is needed. Graphviz installs
several programs for processing dot files. For the Geneagrapher, I use
the dot program. Let's look at an example.
If the Geneagrapher has generated a file named "graph.dot", we can do
```
dot -Tpng graph.dot > graph.png
```
This command produces a PNG file containing the graph. That's really
all there is to it. Almost.
By default, `dot` renders an image with 96dpi. This can look a little
blurry at 100% on high-resolution displays. You might want to increase
the resolution. You can do this with the `-Gdpi` flag. For instance,
to produce a PNG with 150dpi, you can do
```
dot -Tpng -Gdpi=150 graph.dot > graph.png
```
## Examples
_Note: the Mathematics Genealogy Project has added new data since the
examples below were constructed, so if re-run, the results will look
different. The commands, however, all remain correct._
### Single Node Ancestry: Carl Gauß
To produce the ancestry dot file for Carl Gauß and save it in the file
'gauss.dot', run the command
```
ggrapher -f gauss.dot -a 18231
```
### Multiple Node Ancestry: Friedrich Bessel and Christian Gerling
To produce the combined ancestry dot file for Friedrich Bessel and
Christian Gerling and save it in the file 'bessel_gerling.dot', run
the command
```
ggrapher -f bessel_gerling.dot -a 18603 29642
```
### Single Node Descendant Graph: Haskell Curry
To produce the descendant dot file for Haskell Curry and save it in
the file 'curry.dot', run the command
```
ggrapher -f curry.dot -d 7398
```
Note that descendant graphs often have a lot of "fan out".
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