Software Visualization for Teaching Network Protocols

The objective of this thesis is to determine how to create an interactive sys-tem to aid in teaching data communications protocols and enhance learning by means of software visualization. The visualization needs to support varied net-work protocols, and adding new ones to the system should be easy. The system should support lecture demonstrations, and learning by oneself should also be possible, taking into account that students today are accustomed to extensive interaction and instant gratification. A brief survey is made of the field of software visualization. Several systems are looked at and their suitability, concerning the objectives defined in this thesis, is reviewed. Host Identity Protocol is used as an example for visual-ization as it is a fairly simple protocol but can involve several communicating parties. The Matrix framework is chosen as the platform to build upon. It provides much of the features that are seen as important in solving the prob-lems presented in this thesis. It has been proven successful for teaching data structures and algorithms. Alternative solutions and approaches are assessed. Example scenarios demonstrate the proposed solution in the form of a cognitive walkthrough. The design is assessed utilizing Price’s taxonomy and usability heuristics. Future work involves implementing the solution and assessing the system in actual use on the coming data communications courses