The author and his associates have been experimenting for the past several years with a programming language and documentation system called WEB. This paper presents WEB by example, and discusses why the new system appears to be an improvement over previous ones.

and Pictorial Data Satoshi Matsuoka Shin Takahashi Tomihisa Kamada 3 Akinori Yonezawa y Department of Information Science, the University of Tokyo 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113 Japan Research and Development, ACCESS CO., LTD. 1-7-1 Sarugaku-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101 Japan Abstract The merits of direct manipulation are now widely recognized. However, direct manipulation interfaces incur high cost in their creation. To cope with this problem, we present a model of bi-directional translation between pictures and abstract application data, and a prototype system TRIP2 based on this model. Using this model, general mapping from abstract data to pictures, and from pictures to abstract data, is realized merely by giving declarative mapping rules, allowing fast and easy creation of direct manipulation interfaces. We apply the prototype system to the generation of the interfaces for kinship diagrams, Graph Editors, E-R diagrams, and an Othello game. Categories and Subject Descriptors:...

A formal picture description scheme to be used as the basis for picture processing systems is presented, The scheme is applicable to a large class of pictures including, but not restricted to, those contain-ing line-like elements. The paper first presents a general linguistic model for picture processing in which the analysis and generation of pictures are defined as the derivation and execution, respectively, of descriptions. A particular realization of the descriptive component of the model including some of its formal properties is then given; a picture class is described in terms of its underlying graph structures by a gram-mar generating strings in a picture description language. A series of examples illustrate the capability and limitations of the description scheme. Some applications of implemented systems to the analysis and generation of pictures are discussed.

Understanding data structures and algorithms, both of which are abstract concepts, is an integral part of software engineering and elementary computer science education. However, people usually have difficulty in understanding abstract concepts and processes such as procedural encoding of algorithms and data structures. One way to improve their understanding is to provide visualizations to make the abstract concepts more concrete. This thesis presents the design, implementation and evaluation for the Matrix application framework that occupies a unique niche between the following two domains. In the first domain, called algorithm animation, abstractions of the behavior of fundamental computer program operations are visualized. In the second domain, called algorithm simulation, the framework for exploring and understanding algorithms and data structures is exhibited. First, an overview and theoretical basis for the application framework is presented. Second, the different roles are defined and examined for realizing the idea of algorithm

flo is a language for including flowcharts into documents typeset using the UNIX™ ditroff. A basic flowchart can be created with minimal effort by inputting only the basic algorithm written in a Pascal-like notation. The example below illustrates the general capability of flo. The flowchart to the left is obtained from the input to the right.

As software systems become more complex, so does the task of understanding them. To modify even a simple component of a complex system, at least a rudimentary understanding of the structure and behavior of the whole system is necessary. Although currently available development tools can provide a static representation of a complex system, these utilities are limited and prohibitively expensive. As a result, most programmers working on large software systems today resort to classic debuggers and time-consuming plain-text searches through hundreds or thousands of source files. This thesis describes a software development environment that uses static representations of hierarchically structured source code side by side with dynamic visualizations of software systems as they run. This environment provides an intuit ive, visual means of easily comprehending complex systems, and has been provided as an open-source development tool for both professionals and students of software engineering.

This chapter presents the early history of software visualization. It positions the field as a branch of software engineering that strives to aid programmers in managing the complexity of modern software. Unfortunately, as systems such as Windows 95 contain over 10,000,000 lines of code, software visualization has a long way to go if it is to play a substantial role where the need is greatest. A program is a precise description, expressed in a computer programming language, of a system, process, or problem solution. Large programs typically progress through a life cycle (Belady and Lehman, 1976) which includes debugging. They are refined and often redesigned and reimplemented as part of an iterative, user-centred design approach (Baecker, Grudin, Buxton, and Greenberg, 1995) involving interactions with and feedback from users. Longterm use requires that maintenance be done throughout the program’s lifetime. Maintenance often consumes 50 % to 75 % of the total costs incurred over that lifetime (Boehm, 1981, p. 533). Managing Complex Software