Visualising complex sequential and parallel programs

M. A. Beaumont

D. Jackson

M. Usher

pp. 331-340

in: Ray Paton, Irene Neilson (eds), Visual representations and interpretations, Berlin, Springer, 1999

Abstract

The authors have addressed two areas of programming that have proved problematical for visual language designers. The first concerns sequential code that does not adhere to the rules of structured programming, and therefore exhibits highly complex control flow; the second concerns parallel execution, where the multiple threads of control can again lead to visualisations that are difficult to comprehend and maintain. A number of techniques have been devised to overcome these problems, and prototype visual systems have been implemented.