Writing an AlgAE Animation

AlgAE's goal is to let an instructor quickly animate code drawn from a C++ or Java text, and to display these animations in a classroom setting (relatively few objects on the screen, but drawn large enough to be visible in a large classroom, using an overhead LCD pad or similar display device).

The basic steps in creating a Java animation are:

1. Decide which new classes will be drawn.
2. For each such class, create and register a Renderer class.

   The Renderer for a class C must provide functions that describe

   1. What color to use when drawing objects of type C.
   2. What string of text to use as the value of a C object.
   3. What other objects each C object points to.
   4. What other objects are contained inside each C object.
      • and whether those contained objects should be listed hoizontally, vertically, or in some other pattern.

3. Decide which functions should be made available in the Algorithm menu and provide a simple driver to set up any input parameters for each such function and to then call the function.
4. Within the bodies of those functions, insert calls to breakHere wherever a pause and redraw of the data state is desired and present a list of any parameters or local variables to be drawn.
5. (Optional) Add additional calls to highlight certain objects with color changes.