An object-oriented approach to algorithm visualization—easy, extensible, and dynamic

ABSTRACT

A key component of our attempt to integrate the object-oriented paradigm into introductory and intermediate courses is algorithm visualization. Such visualization depicts an algorithm as a sequence of graphical snapshots of data structures that are operated upon at “interesting events” in the algorithm's execution. Using object-oriented techniques, we have significantly enchanced a previous version of the algorithm visualization system called GAIGS, developed at Lawrence. These enhancements allow instructors and students to develop dynamic visualizations with relative ease and, if desired, extend the graphic operations that are built into GAIGS to allow more personalized visualizations. The resulting software package is being used in a core of courses as a means of illustrating the power of the object-oriented approach while at the same time advancing students' understanding of difficult algorithms. Because of the extensibility of the object-oriented features of the system, we envision many future applications in which it could be used. To encourage the development of such applications, the system is conveniently available via ftp.

REFERENCES

• 1: Brown, Marc. Algorithm Animation. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1987.
• 2: Daltin R. Hunkins , Steven K. Andrianoff , Rosalee Nerheim-Wolfe , Thomas L. Naps, Computer graphics across the CS curriculum (abstract), Proceedings of the twenty-fourth SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education, p.295, February 18-19, 1993, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
• 3: Naps, Thomas L. "Design of a Completely General Algorithm Visualization System." Proceedings of the 22nd Small College Computing Symposium, April, 1989, Eau Claire, WI, pp. 233-241.
• 4: Thomas L. Naps, Algorithm visualization in computer science laboratories, Proceedings of the twenty-first SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education, p.105-110, February 1990, Washington, D.C., United States
• 5: Naps, Thomas L. and Hundhansen, Christopher D. "The Evolution of an Algorithm Visualization System." Proceedings of the 24th Small College Computing Symposium, April, 1991, pp. 259-263.
• 6: Naps, Thomas L. and Hundhausen, Christopher D. and Swander, Brian. GAIGS User Manual, Ver. 3.0. Lawrence Computing Center Publications, Appleton, WI, 1993.
• 7: Marc Rettig , Gary Simons , John Thomson, Extended objects, Communications of the ACM, v.36 n.8, p.19-24, Aug. 1993 [doi>10.1145/163381.163413]
• 8: John Stasko , Albert Badre , Clayton Lewis, Do algorithm animations assist learning?: an empirical study and analysis, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, p.61-66, April 24-29, 1993, Amsterdam, The Netherlands [doi>10.1145/169059.169078]
• 9: D. Schweitzer, Designing interactive visualization tools for the graphics classroom, Proceedings of the twenty-third SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education, p.299-303, March 05-06, 1992, Kansas City, Missouri, United States

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.2 Computer and Information Science Education
          Subjects: Computer science education

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.1 PROGRAMMING TECHNIQUES
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.3 Language Constructs and Features
          Subjects: Procedures, functions, and subroutines

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.2 Computer and Information Science Education
          Subjects: Curriculum

General Terms:
Algorithms