Graphical simulator of mathematical algorithms (GraSMA)

• Author(s): Balsa, Carlos ; Alves, Luís M. ; Pereira, Maria João ; Rodrigues, Pedro João
• Date: 2010
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/7098
• Origin: Biblioteca Digital do IPB
• Subject(s): E-Learning tool; Numerical methods; Open source software; Octave; OpenGL; Code instrumentation
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

Our goal is to develop an interactive software GraSMA that illustrates the execution of mathematical algorithms in the context of numerical methods. We want to create a working tool for teachers and learning tool for students. To achieve it we only use free software (as it is the Open Source software). The strategy followed was to extend the original algorithm code, implemented in Octave, with inspector instructions, recording in a XML (eXtensible Markup Language) file everything that happened during the execution. Subsequently, the XML file is parsed by a Java application that graphically represents the mathematic objects and their behaviour during execution. In this paper, we report the procedures followed, the difficulties encountered and the first results we achieved.