A library for visualizing combinatorial structures

Abstract

Describes ANIM3D, a 3D animation library targeted at visualizing combinatorial structures. In particular, we are interested in algorithm animation. Constructing a new view for an algorithm typically takes dozens of design iterations, and can be very time-consuming. Our library eases the programmer's burden by providing high-level constructs for performing animations, and by offering an interpretive environment that eliminates the need for recompilations. We also illustrate ANIM3D's expressiveness by developing a 3D animation of Dijkstra's shortest-path algorithm in just 70 lines of code.<>