Writing Virtual Environments for Software Visualization

This book describes the software for creating networked, 3D multi-user virtual environments that allow users to create and remotely share visualizations of program behavior. The authors cover the major features of collaborative virtual environments and how to program them in a very high level language, and show how visualization can enable important advances in our ability to understand and reduce the costs of maintaining software. The book also examines the application of popular game-like software technologies.

. Discusses the acquisition of program behavior data to be visualized

. Demonstrates the integration of multiple 2D and 3D dynamic views within a 3Dscene

. Presents the network messaging capabilities to share those visualizations

Autorentext

Dr. Clinton Jeffery is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Idaho.

Zusammenfassung
Writing Virtual Environments for Software Visualization book describes the software for a networked, 3D multi-user virtual environment that allows users to create and share remotely visualizations of program behavior. Collaborative virtual environments such as World of Warcraft or Second Life are a popular way to share interactive internet experiences, but they are complex and difficult to create. Software visualization is an area that may enable important advances in our ability to understand and reduce the costs of maintaining software. Applying the former technology to this problem area will be valuable to distributed and multi-institutional software development and educational users. The author covers the major features of collaborative virtual environments and how to program them in a very high level language. The book also examines the application of popular game-like software technologies.

Inhalt
Introduction.- Visualization Principles and Techniques.- Software Instrumentation and Data Collection.- Visualizing Aspects of Program Behavior.- Integrating Multiple Views.- Sharing Visualizations across a Network.- An Overview of Virtual Environments.- Virtual Worlds Graphics and Modeling.- Non-Player Characters and Quests.- Dynamic Texturing in Virtual Environments.- Embedding Visualizations in a Virtual Environment.