An Object-Oriented Learning/Design Support Environment

We present an object-oriented experimental learning and design support environment, call AVT, for an Algorithm Visualization Tool, implemented in Digitalk\u27s Smalltalk/V1 on a Macintosh II2, AVT provides a domain- independent visualization tool, an exploratory learning environment, and an experimental heuristic design environment. Algorithm visualization is the exploration of ways to visualize intuitively the computational behavior of an algorithm using multiple views, some of which are visual in the graphical sense [2,4]. AVT employs other views (combining text and graphics) to explain the problem, the strategy, the heuristics, and the reasoning process behind the solutions. User interaction in AVT includes not only passive viewingof the animated algorithmic process but also active participation in the design of the steps of the algorithm. Object-Oriented Programming(OOP)offers an attractive paradigm for rapidly implementing heuristics as well as more coherent and understandable code [1,12]. Inheritance properties of OOP languages capture natural mechanisms such as specialization, abstraction, and evolution allowing us to model our environment in a more natural manner[11]