Cluster diagram
Encyclopedia
A Cluster diagram or clustering diagram is a general type of diagram
, which represents some kind of cluster. A cluster in general is a group or bunch of several discrete items that are close to each other.
The cluster diagram figures a cluster, such as a network diagram figures a network
, a flow diagram a process or movement of objects, and a tree diagram an abstract tree
. But all these diagrams can be considered interconnected: A network diagram can be seen as a special orderly arranged kind of cluster diagram. A cluster diagram is a mesh
kind of network diagram. A flow diagram can be seen as a line type of network diagram, and a tree diagram
a tree type of network diagram.
Image:Skyscrapercompare.svg|Comparison diagram of sky scraper
Image:M3 color magnitude diagram it.jpg|Astronomic cluster diagram of the Messier 3
globular cluster
Image:Biositemap iTools NCBC.png|Biositemap
diagram
Image:EvaporacaoDeNuvem.png|Cluster chart in brainstorming
Image:PC-Architecture.png|Computer architecture
diagram of a PC
Image:IEEE 802.15.4 cluster tree.png|Computer network diagram
Image:WorldWideWebAroundWikipedia.png|Internet
diagram
Image:NDE Context Diagram.jpg|System context diagram
Image:ClassAdapter.png|UML Class diagram
Image:Component-4.png|UML Component diagram
Image:UML esempio compostruct 3.gif|UML Composite structure diagram
Image:UML Diagramme Deploiement.gif|UML Deployment diagram
Diagram
A diagram is a two-dimensional geometric symbolic representation of information according to some visualization technique. Sometimes, the technique uses a three-dimensional visualization which is then projected onto the two-dimensional surface...
, which represents some kind of cluster. A cluster in general is a group or bunch of several discrete items that are close to each other.
The cluster diagram figures a cluster, such as a network diagram figures a network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
, a flow diagram a process or movement of objects, and a tree diagram an abstract tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
. But all these diagrams can be considered interconnected: A network diagram can be seen as a special orderly arranged kind of cluster diagram. A cluster diagram is a mesh
Mesh networking
Mesh networking is a type of networking where each node must not only capture and disseminate its own data, but also serve as a relay for other nodes, that is, it must collaborate to propagate the data in the network....
kind of network diagram. A flow diagram can be seen as a line type of network diagram, and a tree diagram
Tree diagram
The term tree diagram refers to a specific type of diagram that has a unique network topology. It can be seen as a specific type of network diagram, which in turn can be seen as a special kind of cluster diagram.-Applications:...
a tree type of network diagram.
Types of cluster diagrams
Specific types of cluster diagrams are:Image:Skyscrapercompare.svg|Comparison diagram of sky scraper
Image:M3 color magnitude diagram it.jpg|Astronomic cluster diagram of the Messier 3
Messier 3
Messier 3 is a globular cluster in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, and resolved into stars by William Herschel around 1784. This cluster is one of the largest and brightest, and is made up of around 500,000 stars. It is located at a distance of...
globular cluster
Globular cluster
A globular cluster is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galactic core as a satellite. Globular clusters are very tightly bound by gravity, which gives them their spherical shapes and relatively high stellar densities toward their centers. The name of this category of star cluster is...
Image:Biositemap iTools NCBC.png|Biositemap
Biositemap
A Biositemap is a way for a biomedical research institution of organisation to show how biological information is distributed throughout their Information Technology systems and networks...
diagram
Image:EvaporacaoDeNuvem.png|Cluster chart in brainstorming
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which a group tries to find a solution for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members...
- In architectureArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
a comparison diagram is sometimes called a cluster diagram.
- In astronomyAstronomyAstronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
diagrams of star clusterStar clusterStar clusters or star clouds are groups of stars. Two types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of hundreds of thousands of very old stars which are gravitationally bound, while open clusters, more loosely clustered groups of stars, generally contain less than...
, galaxy groups and clustersGalaxy groups and clustersGalaxy groups and clusters are the largest known gravitationally bound objects to have arisen thus far in the process of cosmic structure formation. They form the densest part of the large scale structure of the universe...
or globular clusterGlobular clusterA globular cluster is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galactic core as a satellite. Globular clusters are very tightly bound by gravity, which gives them their spherical shapes and relatively high stellar densities toward their centers. The name of this category of star cluster is...
.
- In brainstormingBrainstormingBrainstorming is a group creativity technique by which a group tries to find a solution for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members...
a cluster diagrams is also called cloud diagram. They can be considered "are a type of non-linear graphic organizer that can help to systematize the generation of ideas based upon a central topic. Using this type of diagram... can more easily brainstorm a theme, associate about an idea, or explore a new subject". Also, the term cluster diagrams is sometimes used as synonym of mind mapMind mapA mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Especially in British English, the terms spidergram and spidergraph are more common, but they can cause confusion with the term spider diagram used in mathematics...
s".
Image:PC-Architecture.png|Computer architecture
Computer architecture
In computer science and engineering, computer architecture is the practical art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components to create computers that meet functional, performance and cost goals and the formal modelling of those systems....
diagram of a PC
Image:IEEE 802.15.4 cluster tree.png|Computer network diagram
Image:WorldWideWebAroundWikipedia.png|Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
diagram
Image:NDE Context Diagram.jpg|System context diagram
System context diagram
A System Context Diagram in software engineering and systems engineering is a diagram that represents the actors outside a system that could interact with that system. This diagram is the highest level view of a system. It is similar to a Block diagram...
- In computer scienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
more complex diagrams of computer networks, computer architectureComputer architectureIn computer science and engineering, computer architecture is the practical art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components to create computers that meet functional, performance and cost goals and the formal modelling of those systems....
, file systemFile systemA file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...
s and internetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
can be considered cluster diagrams.
- In information visualizationInformation visualizationInformation visualization is the interdisciplinary study of "the visual representation of large-scale collections of non-numerical information, such as files and lines of code in software systems, library and bibliographic databases, networks of relations on the internet, and so forth".- Overview...
specific visual representation of large-scale collections of non-numerical information are sometimes drawn in the shape of a cluster diagram.
- In quantum field theoryQuantum field theoryQuantum field theory provides a theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanical models of systems classically parametrized by an infinite number of dynamical degrees of freedom, that is, fields and many-body systems. It is the natural and quantitative language of particle physics and...
for example, according to Crawford (1998), the called coupled cluster diagram is a "simple diagrammatic formalism popularized by Kucharski and Bartlett [in 1986] by which one may construct the coupled cluster energy and amplitude equations far more quickly than by direct application of Wick's theoremWick's theoremWick's theorem is a method of reducing high-order derivatives to a combinatorics problem . It is named after Gian-Carlo Wick. It is used extensively in quantum field theory to reduce arbitrary products of creation and annihilation operators to sums of products of pairs of these operators...
".
Image:ClassAdapter.png|UML Class diagram
Class diagram
In software engineering, a class diagram in the Unified Modeling Language is a type of static structure diagram that describes the structure of a system by showing the system's classes, their attributes, operations , and the relationships among the classes.- Overview :The class diagram is the main...
Image:Component-4.png|UML Component diagram
Component diagram
In the Unified Modeling Language, a component diagram depicts how components are wired together to form larger components and or software systems.They are used to illustrate the structure of arbitrarily complex systems.- Overview :...
Image:UML esempio compostruct 3.gif|UML Composite structure diagram
Composite structure diagram
Composite structure diagram in the Unified Modeling Language is a type of static structure diagram, that shows the internal structure of a class and the collaborations that this structure makes possible....
Image:UML Diagramme Deploiement.gif|UML Deployment diagram
Deployment diagram
A deployment diagram in the Unified Modeling Language models the physical deployment of artifacts on nodes. To describe a web site, for example, a deployment diagram would show what hardware components exist , what software components run on each node , and how...
- In the Unified Modeling LanguageUnified Modeling LanguageUnified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
(UML) all structure diagrams can be considered cluster diagrams. These structure diagrams emphasize what things must be in the system being modeled. UML encounters here the Class diagramClass diagramIn software engineering, a class diagram in the Unified Modeling Language is a type of static structure diagram that describes the structure of a system by showing the system's classes, their attributes, operations , and the relationships among the classes.- Overview :The class diagram is the main...
, Component diagramComponent diagramIn the Unified Modeling Language, a component diagram depicts how components are wired together to form larger components and or software systems.They are used to illustrate the structure of arbitrarily complex systems.- Overview :...
, Composite structure diagramComposite structure diagramComposite structure diagram in the Unified Modeling Language is a type of static structure diagram, that shows the internal structure of a class and the collaborations that this structure makes possible....
, Deployment diagramDeployment diagramA deployment diagram in the Unified Modeling Language models the physical deployment of artifacts on nodes. To describe a web site, for example, a deployment diagram would show what hardware components exist , what software components run on each node , and how...
, Object diagramObject diagramAn object diagram in the Unified Modeling Language , is a diagram that shows a complete or partial view of the structure of a modeled system at a specific time....
, and the Package diagramPackage diagramA package diagram in the Unified Modeling Language depicts the dependencies between the packages that make up a model.- Overview :In addition to the standard UML Dependency relationship, there are two special types of dependencies defined between packages:...
.
Further reading
- Lee E. BrasseurLee E. BrasseurLee Ellen Brasseur is an American Professor of technical communication at the Department of English at the Illinois State University, and expert in the field of visualization, known from her 2003 book "Visualizing Technical Information: A Cultural Critique"....
(2003). Visualizing technical information: a cultural critique. Amityville, N.Y: Baywood Pub. ISBN 0-89503-240-6. - M. Dale and J. Moon (1988). "Statistical tests on two characteristics of the shapes of cluster diagrams". in: Journal of Classification, 1988, vol. 5, issue 1, pages 21–38.
- Robert E. Horn (1999). Visual Language: Global Communication for the 21st Century. MacroVU Press.
External links
- Cluster diagram at cap.nsw.edu.au
- City of London Skyscraper Cluster Diagram