中文摘要：

随着掌控的层次信息在数量和规模上的急剧增长,用户迫切需要高效的可视化工具在理解信息和制定决策过程中对认知行为进行辅助.首先对层次结构进行介绍,给出层次可视化的设计目标;然后讨论了层次可视化技术的分类问题,并尝试提出一种较为合理且便于阐述的表现-维度分类框架;随后基于上述分类框架,重点分析现有主要层次可视化技术的基本原理和特征;最后比较总结各类技术,并对层次可视化可能的研究方向及面临的挑战做出展望.

英文摘要：

Along with the augments in quantity and structure of hierarchical information in hand,users are in exigent demand of efficient visualization tools to aid cogitation during the processes of information understanding and decision making.Firstly,the hierarchy structure to visualize is introduced,followed by proposed design targets of such visualization.Secondly,a discussion on classification of hierarchy visualization is made to derive a more reasonable Presentation-Dimension Classification Framework that is suitable for expatiating below.Thirdly,based on the framework,we analyze the basic principles and features of the main hierarchy visualization techniques available in emphasis.A comparison of the techniques,and also possible future work and challenges faced are present at last.