nx-yaml 1.0.0

YAML as a human-readable Hypergraph Interchange Format (HIF) for NetworkX

🕸️ nx_yaml

nx_yaml bridges YAML documents and NetworkX by representing YAML as the standard Hypergraph Interchange Format (HIF). For YAML users, this unlocks higher-order graph theory analysis, moving beyond simple tree parsing. For the HIF ecosystem, it provides human-readable native support for higher-order program descriptions.

Features

• Isomorphic Conversion: Losslessly convert between YAML character streams and NetworkX hypergraphs using nx_hif.
• Round-Trip Property: Ensuring full structural and syntactic preservation:
  • serialize(compose(yaml)) == yaml
  • compose(serialize(hif)) == hif
• Formal Hypergraph Definition: Implements the Hypergraph Interchange Format.
• NetworkX Ecosystem: Built to interoperate with the broader NetworkX ecosystem and libraries.
• Extensible: Designed for further support of diverse higher-order representations.

Ecosystem Compatibility

nx_yaml enables interoperability across projects in the Higher-order Network Science community, including the HIF-standard:

• General Purpose: NetworkX
• Higher-order Networks: HyperNetX, XGI, hypergraphx, SimpleHypergraphs.jl, Easy-Graph, DeepHypergraph, Hypergraph Analysis Toolbox, uunet
• Temporal & Multilayer: networkx-temporal, pymnet, reticula, Raphtory, ASH
• Visualization: helios-web, pygraphistry
• Categorical & Monoidal: catgrad, Hypergraph

Citation

If you use nx_yaml in your research, please consider citing the above work:

@article{Coll_Joslyn_Landry_Lotito_Myers_Pickard_Praggastis_Szufel_2025,
  title={HIF: The hypergraph interchange format for higher-order networks},
  volume={13},
  DOI={10.1017/nws.2025.10018},
  journal={Network Science},
  author={Coll, Martín and Joslyn, Cliff A. and Landry, Nicholas W. and Lotito, Quintino Francesco and Myers, Audun and Pickard, Joshua and Praggastis, Brenda and Szufel, Przemysław},
  year={2025},
  pages={e21}
}

License

nx_yaml is dedicated to the public domain under the CC0 1.0 Universal license.