{"title":"Testing effectiveness of algorithm animation","authors":"J. S. Gurka, W. Citrin","doi":"10.1109/VL.1996.545285","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/VL.1996.545285","url":null,"abstract":"Studies designed to demonstrate the pedagogic effectiveness of algorithm animation programs have been markedly unsuccessful, in spite of high expectations. We present a framework for future experiments based upon design issues particular to algorithm animation, plus pertinent educational considerations. Guidelines are drawn from a meta-analysis of previous work and experiments we have performed.","PeriodicalId":340993,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings 1996 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122229567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A graph based framework for the implementation of visual environments","authors":"J. Rekers, Andy Schürr","doi":"10.1109/VL.1996.545281","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/VL.1996.545281","url":null,"abstract":"We propose an architecture for storing visual expressions within an environment which supports various forms of visual expression editing, like syntax directed editing, free editing, and layout editing. The proposed architecture is based on two related graph data structures: an abstract syntax graph represents the logical structure of a visual expression in terms of its visual language syntax; a spatial relations graph represents the pictorial structure of a visual expression with graphical objects as nodes and spatial relations as edges. We explain the distinction between the two ways of structuring in detail, we show how coupled graph grammars can be used to define, build and relate the two structures, and we explain how an editor for a visual language can be defined on top of these data structures. We use the visual language Message Sequence Charts (MSC) as a running example.","PeriodicalId":340993,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings 1996 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages","volume":"73 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123222802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tactile programming: a unified manipulation paradigm supporting program comprehension, composition and sharing","authors":"A. Repenning, James Ambach","doi":"10.1109/VL.1996.545275","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/VL.1996.545275","url":null,"abstract":"Although visual programming techniques have been used to lower the threshold of programming for end users, they are not sufficient for creating end user programming environments that are both easy to use and powerful. To achieve this, an environment must support the definition of programs that are not just static representations of behavior, but are instead dynamic collections of program objects which can be applied in a number of contexts rather than just a program editor. We describe an approach to end user programming called tactile programming which extends visual techniques with a unified program manipulation paradigm that makes programs easy to comprehend, compose and, most importantly, share over the World Wide Web. Tactile programming's inherent ability to support the social context in which programming takes place along with its ability to ease program comprehension and composition is what differentiates this approach from others. In the context of the Agentsheets programming substrate, we have created an instance of a tactile programming environment called Visual AgenTalk which is used to create interactive simulations.","PeriodicalId":340993,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings 1996 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129099132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Atwood, M. Burnett, R. A. Walpole, E. M. Wilcox, Sherry Yang
{"title":"Steering programs via time travel","authors":"J. Atwood, M. Burnett, R. A. Walpole, E. M. Wilcox, Sherry Yang","doi":"10.1109/VL.1996.545261","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/VL.1996.545261","url":null,"abstract":"The environments that programmers traditionally use for problem-solving-with separate modes and tools for writing, compiling, testing, visualizing and debugging-derive their basic structure from historical accident, and take little advantage of human-computer interaction (HCI) research into the cognitive issues of programming. We believe that neglect of these issues impedes programmers' ability to produce reliable, maintainable software. Visual programming languages (VPLs) have begun to address this problem by creating more flexible, less modal programming environments, and we have taken a step further in this direction. In this paper, we describe a VPL in which programmers can modelessly steer as they specify, visualize, explore and alter the behavior of a program while traveling through the program's logical time. This approach supports two often-neglected cognitive principles that HCI research shows can help programmers in their problem-solving.","PeriodicalId":340993,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings 1996 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1996-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130818158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}