Re: Geometry: area optimized arrangement of rectangles

"C6L1V@xxxxxxx" <C6L1V@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Jan wrote:
I'm a math rookie, so please pardon my maths terms.

This is my problem:

There are n rectangles of different size. They shall be arranged in a
single 2D area, the 'container'. The rectangle's order within the
container area doesn't matter. The rectangles shall not overlap, the
container should consume as little room as possible (minimal
width/height).

Is there a name/mathematical term for this problem?

It sounds like the "two-dimensional bin-packing problem". Google this
term to turn up numerous papers on aspects of the problem.

_Bin_ packing? I thought that, as the Wikipedia article says, in bin
packing, the objective is to find "a way that minimizes the number of
bins used". But Jan's problem involves, always, just _one_ container.
So I think "bin" is a red herring.

David

If not, could someone please outline an algorithm to solve it?

I'm looking for a Java library that helps solving this problem. Any
idea which library could be of use

Thank you so much for your help,
regards, Jan
.

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