Standard graph API?

[Robert Brewer]

> Is there any interest in a (hypothetical) standard graph API (with
> 'graph' meaning a network, consisting of nodes and edges)?

1) Yes!
2) Only if it's in C. I don't mind (re)writing pure Python graph
containers, it's the speed of a pure Python graph that's the bigger
issue to me (mostly object inspection and/or
decorate-insert-retrieve-undecorate cycles). If it started in a
pure-Python package, then went into the stdlib, and then got a C
implementation (like sets.py did), that would be fine.
3) It would have to accept arbitrary objects. No "make your class a
subclass of GraphNode" garbage. If someone wanted to make a subclass of
Graph called StringGraph, which was optimized for strings, or IntGraph
optimized for ints, that would be fine. But the base class (I assume a
class implementation?) should handle instances of Object.

I'm sure there are many more details, but those are the big ones IMO.


Robert Brewer
MIS
Amor Ministries
fumanchu at amor.org