HDPV: interactive, faithful, in-vivo runtime state visualization for C/C++ and Java

Data structure visualization can increase program understanding in an educational context and help with visual debugging. Existing data structure visualization tools are limited in interactivity, providing mostly static views; flexibility, by restricting the layout strategies users can apply; scope, by focusing on only a single language; and fidelity, by abstracting away the actual runtime layout and size of a program's data. This paper presents the design and implementation of HDPV, a system for interactive, faithful, in-vivo runtime state visualization for native C/C++ programs and Java programs. We discuss how HDPV can be used for a number of use cases ranging from understanding simple, recursive programs, to understanding the visual effect of programming errors such as buffer overflows.

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