Table cartogram (Q1699289)

Let be given an \(m\times n\) rectangular grid with positive weight values in every cell. A cartogram is the result of resizing the rectangular cells into quadrilaterals, respecting adjacency, in such a way that their size reflects the weight they contain. Since the solution is not unique, visual improvements can be proposed. An algorithm of complexity \(O(mn)\) is presented and it is proved that it generates a cartogram with convex cells. The algorithm uses triangles (considered to be degenerate quadrangles) and then a technique to remove the degeneracy. In a second part, generalizations are proposed using a quadrilateral grid in a general convex quadrilateral, or a circle, or a cartogram on a sphere. The underlying idea is that cartograms might be interesting for presenting data related to geographic regions.