Semi-automatic generation of three-dimensional visual algorithm simulations [Elektronische Ressource] / von Ashraf Abu Baker

Sujets

• Informatik

Informations

• Publié par: goethe_universitat_frankfurt_am_main
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 16
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

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Semi-Automatic Generation of
Three-Dimensional Visual Algorithm
Simulations
Dissertation zur Erlangung des
Doktorgrades der Naturwissenschaften
Vorgelegt beim
Fachbereich Informatik und Mathematik (12)
der Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main
Von
Ashraf Abu Baker
April, 2009Dedication
This dissertation is gratefully dedicated to my
late loving mother:
Nijme Fuad Aref Hmaidy
(28.06.1990)
iiiivAcknowledgements
lthough this dissertation is the result of the author’s research, without the
A encouragement and support of some people the completion of this thesis
would have been much more di cult, if not impossible. To all those people I would
like to express my deepest gratitude, especially to my advisers: Prof. Dr. Detlef
Kr omker, who granted me the opportunity to launch this research, as well as Prof.
Dr. Georg Schnitger for their patience, support and guidance.
I also owe my sincere gratitude to all those with whom I have published a number
of useful papers, for their great cooperation: Borislav Milanovic, Dr. Alexander
Tillmann, Dipl.-Inf. Stefan Kappes and Dipl.-Inf. Dirk Grunwald.
vviPublications
ome parts of this research have already been published in several papers. In
Sparticular, Section 4.3 draws on the work presented in [13] and [12]. Sec-
tion 5.5 and 5.7 are based on the research published in [11] and [14], respectively.
Two further papers on the visualisation of parallel algorithms and the development
of reversible 3D applications were submitted recently to the InfoVis-2009 confer-
ence [1] and will not have been reviewed before submitting this thesis. Additionally,
four papers were published on topics, not directly related to this research, but to
e-learning themes, and are therefore not included in this thesis [17, 16, 15, 121].
viiviiiAbstract
1lgorithms and data structures constitute the theoretical foundations of com-
A puter science and are an integral part of any classical computer science cur-
riculum. Due to their high level of abstraction, the understanding of algorithms
is of crucial concern to the vast majority of novice students. To facilitate the un-
derstanding and teaching of algorithms, a new research eld termed \algorithm
visualisation" evolved in the early 1980’s. This eld is concerned with innovating
techniques and concepts for the development of e ective algorithm visualisations
for teaching, study, and research purposes.
Due to the large number of requirements that high-quality algorithm visualisa-
tions need to meet, developing and deploying e ective algorithm visualisations from
scratch is often deemed to be an arduous, time-consuming task, which necessitates
high-level skills in didactics, design, programming and evaluation.
A substantial part of this thesis is devoted to the problems and solutions related
to the automation of three-dimensional visual simulation of algorithms. The sci-
enti c contribution of the research presented in this work lies in addressing three
concerns:
Identifying and investigating the issues related to the full automation of visual
simulations.
Developing an automation-based approach to minimising the e ort required
1The term algorithm derives from \Muhammad ibn Musa Abu Ja’far Al-Khwarizmi", the name
of a mathematician and astronomer. He is considered to be the father of algebra and was among
the rst to use zero as a place holder in positional base notation [75, 74].
ix