Applying algorithm animation techniques for program tracing, debugging, and understanding

Algorithm animation presents a dynamic visualization of an algorithm or program. This work seeks to bridge the two domains of data structure display and algorithm animation. The application-specific nature of algorithm animation views could be a valuable debugging aid for software developers. A system called Lens was developed that allows programmers to rapidly develop animations of their programs. Lens supports application-specific semantic program views as seen in many algorithm animation systems, but does not require graphics programming. Lens is integrated with a system debugger to support iterative testing and refinement. The authors describe the conceptual model on which Lens is based, illustrate how program animations are built with Lens, and outline some of the implementation challenges the system presents