An Interactive Laboratory Infrastructure for Computer Science

计算机科学的交互式实验室基础设施

• 批准号: 9455588
• 负责人: Rockford Ross
• 金额: $ 9.33万
• 依托单位: Montana State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-06-01 至 1997-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9455588&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Interactive; Laboratory; Infrastructure; Computer; Science

9455588 Ross The objective of this project is the design and development of an infrastructure around which formal laboratories in computer science can be implemented. The central component of the infrastructure is a software system called DYNALAB, for DYNAmic LABoratory. DYNALAB will run on Macintosh and IBM-compatible personal computers, as well as X-terminals connected to central computers. Students using DYNALAB have access--through a user interface oriented towards complete novices--to a comprehensive, easily modifiable, and extendible library of programs and experiments, including experiments in program structure (e.g., iteration, selection, recursion, execution-path determination, parameter passing mechanisms, functions, procedures, and so forth), black box determination of algorithms, time complexity, space complexity, program verification, and others. A sophisticated program animation component allows the execution of programs both forwards and in reverse, while displaying dynamically and in interactive fashion the pertinent aspects of program execution, such as the currently executing statement, values of variables, pointer references, and statement and memory cell counts (for time and space complexity experiments). Algorithm animation components also allow abstract graphical representations of algorithms to be presented on a screen in forward and reverse modes for algorithm and data structure studies. Finally, concept animations are included for the study of fundamental computer science concepts, such as compiling, multitasking, intractability, and so forth. The desirability of formal laboratories in the computer science curriculum is well documented, but few institutions ha e incorporated them for lack of laboratory resources. It is expected that DYNALAB will be widely adopted as a tool around which computer science laboratories can be designed.

9455588罗斯该项目的目标是设计和开发一个基础设施，围绕该基础设施，可以实施正式的计算机科学实验室。基础设施的核心组成部分是一个名为DYNALAB的软件系统，用于DYNAmic LABoratory。DYNALAB将运行在Macintosh和IBM兼容的个人计算机上，以及连接到中央计算机的X终端上。使用DYNALAB的学生可以通过面向完全新手的用户界面访问全面，易于修改和可扩展的程序和实验库，包括程序结构实验（例如，迭代、选择、递归、执行路径确定、参数传递机制、函数、过程等）、算法的黑盒确定、时间复杂度、空间复杂度、程序验证等。一个复杂的程序动画组件允许正向和反向执行程序，同时动态地以交互方式显示程序执行的相关方面，例如当前执行的语句、变量值、指针引用以及语句和存储器单元计数（用于时间和空间复杂性实验）。算法动画组件还允许算法的抽象图形表示以正向和反向模式呈现在屏幕上，用于算法和数据结构研究。最后，概念动画包括基本的计算机科学概念的研究，如编译，多任务，棘手，等等。在计算机科学课程中建立正式实验室的必要性是有据可查的，但由于缺乏实验室资源，很少有机构将其纳入计算机科学课程。预计DYNALAB将被广泛采用，作为计算机科学实验室设计的工具。