Animation of Protocols and Distributed Algorithms

Arnulf Mester, Heiko Krumm

Universität Dortmund, FB Informatik, LS IV, D-44221 Dortmund, Germany
E-Mail: mester@acm.org | krumm@ls4.cs.tu-dortmund.de

Abstract

In order to support the education in distributed system fundamentals and to elucidate the function of distributed algorithms and protocols we apply animations of formal models which concentrate on the mediation of aspects of the dynamic system behaviour. For this purpose we adapted and extended approaches and tools supporting the animation of sequential algorithms. Besides of sets of special animations, the results comprise a set of view types providing for the convenient presentation of dynamic properties. Furthermore we report on experiences we gained from a series of corresponding educational experiments.

Keywords

Algorithm Animation, Distributed Algorithms, Communication Protocols, Animation System, Animation Framework, Animation Guidelines, Animation Views, Visualization of dynamic behaviour

Published in

Journal of Computer Science Education, 10(2000)3, 243-265.

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