Ontology graph visualization using pydot library in Python

Abstract

Visualization of a Russian-language ontology using the pydot library in Python leads to the creation of a knowledge graph with incorrectly displayed Cyrillic characters. Assignment of a Russian-language supporting font while defining the graph has no influence on the final image. The study proposes a solution to this problem which lies in setting an explicit encoding when exporting the image as a file via the .write_png('output.png', encoding='utf8') command. This procedure enables the creation of a knowledge graph with Cyrillic script support. The introduced method of Russian-language ontologies visualization in Python can be applied by IT specialists in developing information systems based on ontologies under consideration or by educators using the ontologies in the teaching process.