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Abstract

A novel approach to algorithm animation consists in displaying algorithms based on their design technique. In this paper, we describe a framework to generate these animations without effort from the instructor. We describe a preprocessing phase that modifies the source code of the algorithm to visualize. When the transformed code is executed, a trace is stored and then used to generate an animation. We also describe the architecture of the animation subsystem. Finally, we outline the main features of SRec, a system that we have built to illustrate the feasibility of this approach. It is aimed at visualizing multiple views of recursion, namely traces, the control stack and activation trees.

Keywords  Computer science education - recursion - program visualization - program animation - automation

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