A visualization tool for classic sorting and searching algorithms.
Algorithms are a tough cookie to crack. It seems you can stare at a few lines of code for hours trying to map out the steps in your head and still the nature of how the algorithm does its job eludes you. Add recursion into the mix and things only get ten times as perplexing. At least this is the case for me. Having felt like I've learned and relearned the classic sorting algorithms way too many times, I decided it was time to approach my understanding of algorithms differently. And so I thought, what better way to learn these algorithms then by creating my own visualizations of them? After all, this is where I always ended up – looking up visualizations to guide my understanding. These visualizations, however, never left me with a lasting understanding of these algorithms' inner workings. It was like reading the SparkNotes of a novel and expecting to understand the whole book. But in creating my own visualizations, I'd be forced to really dive deep into the guts of these algorithms and hopefully come out with an enduring understanding of them.
In the end, I think this miniproject has significantly aided my comprehension of the essential algorithms I strove to learn. Visualization is truly a powerful tool for understanding many of the cryptic complexities of computer science. And also, they're pretty fun. Check out these algorithm visualizations below.
