Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
ESM 5984: Scientific Visual Analysis w/Multimedia
Dr. Ronald D. Kriz
Spring 1995

Developers: José C. Castillo, Mourad Fahim, and Lúcio C. Tinoco

Title: A new approach of studying data structures using visualization methods.

Background:

The use of multimedia tools in the classroom is becoming more and more frequent as technology advances. Our motivation is to take advantage of this interest and help undergraduate students in Computer Science to understand better some basic concepts on data structures. Algorithm visualization is one way of presenting this relatively abstract material in very clear and concrete terms.

Objective:

The main goal is to present the concept of binary trees using three different approaches:

• Textual definition and explanation, providing the theoretical basis necessary for the understanding of the algorithms.
• Pseudo-code presentation, allowing user-interaction on inputs, and trace control of the algorithm.
• Algorithm visualization, linking symbolic representations of the data structure and the actual execution of the algorithm in the code window.

Responsibilities:

Our project is divided in two phases: user interface design and code development (implementation). The three team members will be involved in the user interface design. The second phase will be divided as follows:

• José C. Castillo: Menus, text windows, and usability testing.
• Mourad Fahim: Hypertext help, menus, and code windows.
• Lúcio C. Tinoco: Animation windows and theoretical material.

Each member is responsible for the completion of the tasks assigned to him, and also to participate in other tasks as needed.

Tools:

The software tools required for our project are all available at the multimedia lab. The main application that will be used to develop the user interface is Macromedia Director. Other tools we consider include: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Distiller, and Adobe Acrobat.