Big diagram in LaTeX with the help of PGF/TikZ

Question

I managed to make this big diagram in Inkscape adding the codes in LaTeX using the plugin textext. See this question for more.

I wish I knew how to draw the big diagram about dual linear spaces with the help of PGF/TikZ.

Update.

Like I said I could make this figure in Inkscape. But as you can see when I post the StackExchange she gets off with low resolution. In this figure is docoument PDF with a satisfactory resolution. But on the websites of the StackExchange resolution is not good.

I believe that with a package Tikz I can solve the problem. So I posted this question here.

On the coments below: Soon my problem is:

If I use Inkscape I can control the position of the starting and end point of the arcs in each node. But to lose in resolution.

If you use commands TikZ as usual I lose control over the position of the end point and initial arcs in each node. For the package TikZ endpoints and initials of each arc in a position pre-defined package TikZ.

Question: How to solve this problem?

Answer 1

Here's something to get you started using the positioning library from tikz

Explanation

• I started by setting up a node at the center of the picture

  \node(atcenter) at (0,0) {Center};

  everything else is specified in relative position to this node

• Once the nodes are set up, you can connect them using a \foreach loop; this will allow easier changes later- perhaps you want the connections to be all blue, or thick, or something else.
• The only 'tricky' node was the one with more than one row; you'll notice that I used a tabular for this, although it might not be strictly necessary
• The connection between atsouthwest and west isn't exactly as in your picture, but I had to leave something for you to research :)

Complete code

\documentclass{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{positioning}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
  % set up the nodes
  \node(atcenter) at (0,0) {Center}; 
  \node(atnorth) [above=of atcenter]{North};
  \node(ateast) [right=of atcenter]{East};
  \node(atnortheast) [above=of ateast]{North East};
  \node(atsoutheast) [below=of ateast]{South East};
  \node(atwest) [left=of atcenter]{West};
  \node(atsouth) [below=2cm of atcenter]{South};
  \node(atsouthwest) [left=4cm of atsoutheast,draw=black,rounded corners=2ex]{\begin{tabular}{@{}c}South West\\Second row\end{tabular}};
  % connect the nodes, which is a perfect job 
  % for a loop
  \foreach \first/\second in {atcenter/atnorth,
                              atcenter/ateast,
                              ateast/atnortheast,
                              atsoutheast/ateast,
                              atcenter/atsoutheast,
                              atnorth/atnortheast,
                              atwest/atnorth,
                              atcenter/atsouth,
                              atsouthwest/atsoutheast,
                              atwest/atcenter}{%
  \draw[->] (\first) -- (\second);
  \draw (atsouthwest) to[out=90,in=180] (atwest);
  }
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

Answer 2

I think part of the problem, as the OP mentions, is the required positioning of the start and endpoints of the arrows, which, while pretty versatile by default, require (as far I can see) a bit of extra work to get things going in this case.

For the node positioning, I would have gone for a matrix. The line drawing I hide (somewhat crudely) in some styles. A bit like this:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{matrix}
\usetikzlibrary{shapes.misc}
\begin{document}

\tikzset{
    up/.style args={from (#1) to (#2)}{
        insert path={
            ([xshift=2ex]#1.north west) -- ([xshift=2ex]#2.south west)
        }
    },
    down/.style args={from (#1) to (#2)}{
        insert path={
            ([xshift=2ex]#1.south west) -- ([xshift=2ex]#2.north west)
        }
    },
    along right/.style args={from (#1) to (#2)}{
        insert path={
            (#1.east) -- (#2.west)
        }
    },
    down right/.style args={from (#1) to (#2)}{
        insert path={
            ([xshift=3ex]#1.south west) -- (#2.north west)
        }
    },
    up right/.style args={from (#1) to (#2)}{
        insert path={
            ([xshift=3ex]#1.north west) -- (#2.south west)
        }
    }
}

\begin{tikzpicture}[>=stealth]
\matrix 
[
    name=matrix,
    matrix of math nodes,
    row sep=0.5in, 
    column sep=0.5in,
    ampersand replacement=\&,
    nodes={anchor=west},
    row 3 column 1/.style={
        every node/.append style={%
            shape=rounded rectangle,
            draw,
            xshift=-0.5in,
            anchor=center,
            inner xsep=-1ex,
            name=f,
        }
    }]{
           \& |(a)| AAAA \& |(b)| BBBB \\
|(c)| CCCC \& |(d)| DDDD \& |(e)| EEEE \\ 
\node{
    \begin{array}{l}
        F_{1,1}F_{1,2}F_{1,3} \\
        \hskip2ex F_{2,1}F_{2,2}F_{2,3} \\
        \hskip4ex F_{3,1}F_{3,2}F_{3,3} \\
    \end{array} 
};     
           \&            \& |(g)| GGGG \\
           \& |(h)| HHHH 
\\};

\draw [->, up=from (d) to (a)];
\draw [->, up=from (e) to (b)];
\draw [->, up=from (g) to (e)];
\draw [->, down=from (d) to (h)];
\draw [->, along right=from (a) to (b)];
\draw [->, along right=from (c) to (d)];
\draw [->, along right=from (d) to (e)];
\draw [->, along right=from (f) to (g)];
\draw [->, down right=from (d) to (g)];
\draw [->, up right=from (c) to (a)];
\draw  (f) |- (c);

\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}