Real-time graphical representation of linked data structures
Gerard K. Rambally · ACM SIGCSE Bulletin · 1985
This paperdescribes a menu-driven, interactive graphics system which dynamically displays linked data structures as they are manipulated through the execution of programs.The nodes of linked lists are represented by boxes with lines separating the fields.The contents of the data fields are displayed in the graphic representation of the list, and are automatically modified as the program is created and executed.Curved lines with arrowheads represent links, and these are also automatically modified as the program evolves.The system can be used to assist students in developing the necessary skills to manipulate linked lists.As a student creates a program to manipulate a list, the system graphically displays the effect of each statement on the list.This allows the student to quickly and interactively modify any statement which does not produce the desired effect.Together with this advantage of making the debugging task easier, the graphics system also reinforces the temporal aspect of programs, and can be a significant asset to programmers in monitoring and understanding the execution of programs.i.