Is there a way to add arrow from a token/word to another in graphviz?

Question

I'm wondering if it's possible to create something like this usint graphviz, where an arrow points from a token/word to the other, instead of a node.

Answer 1

It is possible to simulate (a lot of things) with tables, though it's usually very ugly in source code:

digraph  {
    node [shape=plain]
    node1 [
        label=<
            <table cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#d0e2f2" cellborder="0">
                <tr><td></td></tr>
                <tr><td port="label">foo bar</td></tr>
                <tr><td></td></tr>
            </table>>
    ]
     node2 [
        label=<
            <table cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#d0e2f2" cellborder="0">
                <tr><td></td></tr>
                <tr><td port="label">baz qux</td></tr>
                <tr><td></td></tr>
            </table>>
    ]

    node1:label:n -> node2:label:n [constraint=false]
}

Result:

---

What I did here:

1. I used a plain node shape and HTML-like label syntax to create a table:

node [shape=plain]
node1 [
    label=<>
]

2. I added 3 rows for my table, first and last one being empty:

<tr><td></td></tr>
<tr><td port="label">foo bar</td></tr>
<tr><td></td></tr>

3. The middle row contains the actual label. Also, to be able to point an edge to specific cell I've added a port to it: <td port="label">foo bar</td>.

4. Finally when defining an edge I've specified the ports to be connected (documentation on ports):

node1:label:n -> node2:label:n