Data structure visualization: the design and implementation of an animation tool

Abstract

An understanding of the underlying mechanics of common data structures is of paramount importance to undergraduate computer science students. Developing such an understanding can be challenging for students, but provides a firm platform for success in later software engineering courses. Conversely, conveying a clear explanation of how data structures evolve under standard operations is challenging for instructors. This paper gives an overview of a data structure visualization tool designed to animate standards manipulations of several common data structures. The application is intended for use by students wanting to practice with algorithms being covered in class, as well as instructors wishing to embellish their lectures with an animated interface. We describe the requirements gathering process, detail the technologies involved in the development of the tool, and demonstrate the main features.