11 MULTIDIMENSIONAL EXPANSION
OF THE ALGORYTHMICS ENVIRONMENT
From 2016, new members have joined the AlgoRythmics research group,
and the enlarged team decided to expand the project. Four new algorithmic
dances were created (heap sort, linear and binary search, backtracking), and
the animation module of the web application was supplemented with several
new elements.
11.1 Expanding the AlgoRythmics collection
After analysing the feedback we had received through the AlgoRythmics
YouTube channel, three dimensions were identified by which the expansion took
place. These followed the main concepts of the original idea: promoting CT by
technologically and artistically enhanced multisensory tools.
11.1.1 From 1D view to 2D view
The first four sorting algorithms included in the AlgoRythmics collection
have quadratic time complexity (O(n’)): bubble sort, insertion sort, selection
sort, and shell sort (for details, see Chapter 7). These sorting strategies could be
illustrated by easily comprehensible linear visualizations (see figures 7.1-4).
The change of the array containing the numbers is visible after each step, and
the sorting process is performed in a linear manner.
The next two algorithms were quick sort and merge sort. Their implemen¬
tations are somewhat harder to visualize, and it could assume multiple views.
Even I Programmer experts claimed that the quick sort choreography cannot be
done using folk dances, and even with modern dances it would be a challenge to
solve the visualization (I Programmer, 2011). These algorithms have O(n log n)
average case time complexity and are considered more optimal than the first four
in case of sorting random data. They apply the so-called “divide and conquer”
paradigm, which is commonly visualized by a tree structure. Despite of this, these
sorting strategies are perfectly understandable from the dance choreographies
“applied” on linearly visualized arrays (see figures 7.5-6). After watching the
AlgoRythmics quick sort choreography, the above referred J Programmer expert
stated: “Yes I know I claimed that it would be impossible, or if possible the result
would be a modern dance the like of which we have not seen, but.... they have
done it. ...two hats are used to mark the progress of the scan.”