Staging software visualizations on the Web

When working with computer programs, either in an educational or industrial context, there is often a need to describe a program and its behaviour either to a tutor, student or colleague. Software visualization (SV) uses techniques such as graphics and animation for describing a program or its algorithm. Software visualizations are tied to a particular place (the machine on which it runs) and time (when the person willing to demonstrate and the person wishing to view are available), restricting their usefulness. The solution to the above problem, the Internet Software Visualization Lab (ISVL), allows demonstrations to be staged over the Web, providing a rich synchronous and asynchronous communication medium. The authors are currently testing a system created in ISVL on a Master´s Programming course