Inferring constraints from multiple snapshots

Many graphic tasks, such as the manipulation of graphical objects and the construction of user-interface widgets, can be facilitated by geometric constraints. However, the difficulty of specifying constraints by traditional methods forms a barrier to their widespread use. In order to make constraints easier to declare, we have developed a method of specifying constraints implicitly, through multiple examples. Snapshots are taken of an initial scene configuration, and one or more additional snapshots are taken after the scene has been edited into other valid configurations. The constraints that are satisfied in all of the snapshots are then applied to the scene objects. We discuss an efficient algorithm for inferring constraints from multiple snapshots. The algorithm has been incorporated into the Chimera editor, and several examples of its use are discussed.

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