ConferenceITiCSE-WGR 2023 - Proceedings of the 2023 Working Group Reports on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education · December 22, 2023
Students are often asked to learn programming by writing code from scratch. However, many novices struggle to write code and get frustrated when their code does not work. Parsons problems can reduce the difficulty of a coding problem by providing mixed-up ...
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ConferenceAnnual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE · June 29, 2023
Many novice programmers struggle to write code from scratch and get frustrated when their code does not work. Parsons problems can reduce the difficulty of a coding problem by providing mixed-up blocks that the learner assembles in the correct order. Parso ...
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ConferenceAnnual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE · December 27, 2022
Programming is a complex task that requires the development of many skills including knowledge of syntax, problem decomposition, algorithm development, and debugging. Code-writing activities are commonly used to help students develop these skills, but the ...
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ConferenceAnnual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE · July 7, 2022
Programming is a complex task that requires the development of many skills including knowledge of syntax, problem decomposition, algorithm development, and debugging. Code-writing activities are commonly used to help students develop these skills, but the ...
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ConferenceAnnual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE · June 26, 2021
We present the CS1 Reviewer App - an online tool for an introductory Python course that allows students to solve customized problem sets on many concepts in the course. Currently, the app's questions focus on code tracing by presenting a block of Python co ...
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ConferenceSIGCSE 2021 - Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · March 3, 2021
The material taught in a Formal Languages and Automata (FLA) course is mathematical in nature and requires students to practice proofs and algorithms to understand the content. Traditional FLA textbooks are heavy on prose, and homework typically consists o ...
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ConferenceCompEd 2019 - Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Global Computing Education · May 9, 2019
Students in introductory programming courses struggle with how to turn a problem statement into code. We introduce a teaching technique, "The Seven Steps," that provides structure and guidance on how to approach a problem. The first four steps focus on dev ...
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ConferenceCEUR Workshop Proceedings · January 1, 2019
The material taught in a Formal languages course is mathematical in nature and requires students to practice proofs and algorithms to understand the content. Traditional Formal Languages textbooks are heavy on prose, and homework typically consists of solv ...
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Journal ArticleACM Inroads · December 1, 2018
Imagine attending a conference and going to a lunch that would change the direction of your life. That was me at SIGCSE 1994 finding out about a new teaching position. Since 1993, I have attended every SIGCSE Symposium and many other SIGCSE conferences; th ...
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ConferenceAnnual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE · July 2, 2018
Students in introductory programming courses struggle with how to turn a problem statement into code. We introduce a technique, “The Seven Steps,” that provides structure and guidance on how to approach a problem. The first four steps focus on devising an ...
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ConferenceSIGCSE 2018 - Proceedings of the 49th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · February 21, 2018
The New York Times published an op-ed by Anita Hill [3] suggesting that women in tech consider class action to remedy the gender bias that is increasingly being reported in the massmedia. This panel raises the question "what are we doing in undergraduate p ...
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ConferenceAnnual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE · June 28, 2017
We offered professional development to in-service K-12 teachers. Teachers learned programming, and how to teach programming. During the subsequent academic year, they taught programming in their schools. We interviewed the teachers to better understand the ...
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ConferenceSIGCSE 2016 - Proceedings of the 47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education · February 17, 2016
The pace of technology for use in computing education is staggering. In the last few years, the following technologies have completely transformed our teaching: Piazza, GradeScope, Google Docs, YouTube, Doodle and whenisgood.net, Skype and Google Hangout, ...
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ConferenceSIGCSE 2015 - Proceedings of the 46th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · February 24, 2015
In this experience report, we share our experiences in growing a community of practice for middle and high school teachers focused on teaching introductory computing with Alice. We have offered professional development for over four hundred teachers, teach ...
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Journal ArticleITICSE 2014 - Proceedings of the 2014 Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education Conference · January 1, 2014
In order to get students interested in computing, we teach middle school teachers of different disciplines programming with Alice and work with them on integrating computing into their discipline. Alice provides an interface for novices to create animation ...
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Journal ArticleAnnual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, ITiCSE · August 12, 2013
JFLAP is an educational software tool for experimenting with several types of automata, grammars and proofs related to the area of theoretical computer science. For example, one can create an NFA, convert it to a DFA, minimize the number of states in the D ...
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Journal ArticleITiCSE-WGR 2013 - Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education · January 1, 2013
Online education supported by digital courseware will radically alter higher education in ways that we cannot predict. New technologies such as MOOCs and Khan Academy have generated interest in new models for knowledge delivery. The nature of Computer Scie ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE'12 - Proceedings of the 43rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · March 30, 2012
For four years we have been integrating computing into a variety of middle school disciplines via the Alice programing language. Early on we focused on creating curriculum materials for teachers to use in teaching the basic programming and animation concep ...
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Journal ArticleITiCSE'11 - Proceedings of the 16th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science · July 19, 2011
In this paper, we describe the results of a four-year collaborative project conducted among six higher education institutions and their partner pre-college school systems across the US. The primary goal of the project was to offer professional development ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE'11 - Proceedings of the 42nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · January 1, 2011
As the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education reform wave has swept the United States, ACM and CSTA, among other organizations, have worked to push K-12 computer science toward the "core" of a student's education. We are at a cr ...
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Journal ArticleITiCSE'10 - Proceedings of the 2010 ACM SIGCSE Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education · August 6, 2010
This paper describes the integration of the Alice 3D virtual worlds environment into many disciplines in elementary school, middle school and high school. We have developed a wide range of Alice instructional materials including tutorials for both computer ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE'10 - Proceedings of the 41st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · May 18, 2010
The ACM K-12 Task Force Curriculum Committee recognized that the lack of integration of computer science into the K-12 curriculum played an important role in the serious shortage of information technologist at all levels [2]. Much effort from the computing ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE'10 - Proceedings of the 41st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · May 18, 2010
Discussion regarding proposals and polices to improve Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in K-12 now span from local school boards up to the President of the United States [1]. It is no longer a question of whether STEM educ ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE'09 - Proceedings of the 40th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · December 1, 2009
This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a program that uses active recruiting and peer-led team learning to try to increase the participation and success of women and minority students in undergraduate computer science. These strategies w ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin Inroads · April 2, 2009
This paper describes the integration of the Alice 3D virtual worlds environment into a diverse set of subjects in middle school, including the development of tutorials, example worlds and lesson plans. In the summer of 2008 our experiences with middle scho ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin Inroads · April 2, 2009
We describe the results from a two-year study with fourteen universities on presenting formal languages in a more visual, interactive and applied manner using JFLAP. In our results the majority of students felt that having access to JFLAP made learning cou ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE'09 - Proceedings of the 40th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · January 1, 2009
This paper describes the integration of the Alice 3D virtual worlds environment into a diverse set of subjects in middle school, including the development of tutorials, example worlds and lesson plans. In the summer of 2008 our experiences with middle scho ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE'09 - Proceedings of the 40th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · January 1, 2009
We describe the results from a two-year study with fourteen universities on presenting formal languages in a more visual, interactive and applied manner using JFLAP. In our results the majority of students felt that having access to JFLAP made learning cou ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings of the Thirty-Seventh SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · December 1, 2007
For forty years programming has been the foundation of introductory computer science. Despite exponential increases in computational power during this period, examples used in introductory courses have remained largely unchanged. The incredible growth in s ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings of the Thirty-Seventh SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · December 1, 2007
This panel is intended for all instructors who have had a desire to incorporate animation and visualization tools into their courses, for those who may not even be aware of such tools and of their potential benefits for instruction and student learning but ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings of the Thirty-Seventh SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · December 1, 2007
Most college and university undergraduate CS programs have a course dealing with the theory of automata and formal languages. In most institutions, the syllabus of such a course is quite stable, and if one compares the syllabus of different institutions, c ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings of the Thirty-Seventh SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · December 1, 2007
We present a hands-on approach to problem solving in the formal languages and automata theory course. Using the tool JFLAP, students can solve a wide range of problems that are tedious to solve using pencil and paper. In combination with the more tradition ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings of the Thirty-Seventh SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · December 1, 2007
SIGCSE 2004 marked the official announcement of the ACM Java Task Force, which is working to develop a stable collection of pedagogical resources that will make it easier to teach Java to first-year computing students. The Task Force published a draft repo ...
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Journal ArticleITiCSE 2007: 12th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education - Inclusive Education in Computer Science · August 27, 2007
The introduction of educational software such as JFLAP into the course Formal Languages and Automata (FLA) has created a learning environment with automatic feedback on theoretical topics. In this paper we show how we further increase the interaction in th ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings of the Thirty-Sixth SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, SIGCSE 2005 · June 27, 2005
SIGCSE 2004 marked the official announcement of the ACM Java Task Force, which is working to develop a stable collection of pedagogical resources that will make it easier to teach Java to first-year computing students. The Java Task Force has received fund ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings of the SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · June 14, 2004
We describe the instructional software JFLAP 4.0 and how it can be used to provide a hands-on formal languages and automata theory course. JFLAP 4.0 doubles the number of chapters worth of material from JFLAP 3.1, now covering topics from eleven of thirtee ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · March 1, 2004
Many SIGCSE attendees have considered or are considering faculty positions focused on education and teaching that are not traditional tenure-track positions. In addition, many Computer Science departments have added or are considering adding such faculty p ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · March 1, 2004
We describe the instructional software JFLAP 4.0 and how it can be used to provide a hands-on formal languages and automata theory course. JFLAP 4.0 doubles the number of chapters worth of material from JFLAP 3.1, now covering topics from eleven of thirtee ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 2003
We present JAWAA 2.0, a scripting language for creating animations easily over the web. JAWAA includes primitives, easy creation of data structures and operations on these structures, and an editor for easy creation of complex objects. We show how to use J ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference · December 1, 2002
This paper presents our experiences promoting active learning in programming courses from introductory to advanced levels. We use a variety of techniques as our courses vary greatly in size and our facilities vary in layout and equipment. For large lecture ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings of the Conference on Integrating Technology into Computer Science Education, ITiCSE · December 1, 2002
Visualization technology can be used to graphically Illustrate various concepts in computer science. We argue that such technology, no matter how well it is designed, is of little educational value unless it engages learners in an active learning activity. ...
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Journal ArticleInteractive Multimedia Electronic Journal of Computer - Enhanced Learning · October 1, 2002
We describe a course for non-majors that teaches computer science concepts using both noncomputer activities and pair programming on the computer during class to build simple animations and virtual worlds. Students work with a scripting language, an intera ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 2002
We describe a course for non-majors that teaches computer science concepts and programming by creating simple animations and building 2D and 3D virtual worlds. Students work with scripting languages, an interactive programming environment, a programmable m ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 2002
Although our students may spend only a class period working one of our exams, as instructors, we invest many more hours crafting the questions and grading their responses. How do we ensure our time is well-spent? What qualities contribute to an effective e ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 2000
In this paper we describe how to increase the visualization and interaction in the automata theory course through the use of the tools JFLAP and Pate. We also describe new features in these tools that allow additional visualization and interaction. New fea ...
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ConferenceSIGCSE 1999 - Proceedings of the 13th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · March 24, 1999
An automata theory course can be taught in an interactive, hands-on manner using a computer. At Duke we have been using the software tool JFLAP to provide interaction and feedback in CPS 140, our automata theory course. JFLAP is a tool for designing and ru ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 1999
An automata theory course can be taught in an interactive, hands-on manner using a computer. At Duke we have been using the software tool JFLAP to provide interaction and feedback in CPS 140, our automata theory course. JFLAP is a tool for designing and ru ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 1998
Programs that use animations or visualizations attract student interest and offer feedback that can enhance different learning styles as students work to master programming and problem solving. In this paper we report on several CS 1 assignments we have us ...
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Journal ArticlePoceedings of the Conference on Integrating Technology into Computer Science Education, ITiCSE · January 1, 1998
Programs that use animations or visualizations attract student interest and offer feedback that can enhance different learning styles as students work to master programming and problem solving. In this paper we report on several CS 1 assignments we have us ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 1998
JAWAA is a simple command language for creating animations of data structures and displaying them with a Web browser. Commands are stored in a script file that is retrieved and run by the JAWAA applet when the applet's Web page is accessed through the Web. ...
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Journal ArticlePoceedings of the Conference on Integrating Technology into Computer Science Education, ITiCSE · January 1, 1998
JAWAA is a simple command language for creating animations of data structures and displaying them with a Web browser. Commands are stored in a script file that is retrieved and run by the JAWAA applet when the applet's Web page is accessed through the Web. ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 1997
The programming language used for the Advanced Placement Computer Science (AP CS) courses and examinations will change from Pascal to C++ beginning with the 1998-1999 academic year. This decision, proposed by the AP Computer Science Development Committee a ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 1997
We present a collection of new and enhanced tools for experimenting with concepts in formal languages and automata theory. New tools, written in Java, include JFLAP for creating and simulating finite automata, pushdown automata and Turing machines; Pâté fo ...
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ConferenceLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) · January 1, 1997
Integrating hands-on practice into an automata and formal languages course aids in transforming the course from a traditional mathematics course into a traditional computer science course, while making the material more interesting from both teaching and l ...
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Journal ArticleProceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference · December 1, 1996
The computer science format languages course becomes a more traditional computer science course by integrating visual and interactive tools into the course, allowing students to gain hands-on experience with theoretical concepts. We explain how the tool JF ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 1996
We present several activities used in the two-week PipeLINK summer program for high school girls. These hands-on activities and interactive talks, presented mostly by female faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students, showed the girls the wide range of ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 1996
This paper presents an overview of visualization in Computer Science instruction. It is broken down in the following fashion. First, we present the motivation for using visualization and visual techniques in instruction. This is followed by a discussion of ...
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Journal ArticleSIGCSE Bulletin (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) · January 1, 1996
This paper describes two ways we have integrated algorithm animations into several computer science courses. First, we use previously existing animations during lectures to aid in explaining algorithms, and second, our students write programs with animatio ...
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Journal ArticleACM SIGCSE Bulletin · March 15, 1995
Students get more out of an interactive lecture than a passive lecture because they are given time to think. This time allows them to determine if they understand a concept, and if not to ask questions. This understanding is crucial when concepts build on ...
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ConferenceProceedings of the 26th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, SIGCSE 1995 · March 15, 1995
Students get more out of an interactive lecture than a passive lecture because they are given time to think. This time allows them to determine if they understand a concept, and if not to ask questions. This understanding is crucial when concepts build on ...
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Journal ArticleACM SIGCSE Bulletin · December 3, 1994
This paper describes instructional tools, LLparse and LRparse, for visualizing and interacting with small examples of LL and LR parsing. These tools can be used to understand the process of constructing LL1994 and LR(1) parse tables through a series of ste ...
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Journal ArticleSIAM Journal on Computing · January 1, 1994
The problem of scheduling n unit-time jobs with real-valued release times and deadlines is shown to be in NC. The solution is based on characterizations of a canonical schedule and best subset of jobs to be scheduled in a given time interval. The algorithm ...
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Journal ArticleACM SIGCSE Bulletin · January 3, 1993
This paper describes tools [4] which simulate and visualize the CREW PRAM optimal parallel merge sort algorithm by Cole [1]. These tools can be used to run simulations of the algorithm for diflerent data and sampling strategies, to gather statistics during ...
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ConferenceProceedings - 1993 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages, VL 1993 · January 1, 1993
Visualization and interaction are powerful tools for explaining abstract concepts. We have developed TuBB, a visual and interactive tool for modular design and animation of Turing machines. Unlike previous visual tools for automata that are based on state ...
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Journal ArticleDiscrete & Computational Geometry · December 1, 1990
A point pi=(xi, yi) in the x-y plane is maximal if there is no point pj=(xj, yj) such that xj>xi and yj>yi. We present a simple data structure, a dynamic contour search tree, which contains all the points in the plane and maintains an embedded linked list ...
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