This is a tool to aid with learning how search algorithms work by visualising an algorithm step by step.
This tool requires Java openjdk-19 to be installed.
https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/
If Java runtime is installed you can just run the .jar file. If not, use "java -jar SearchAlgorithmVisualiser.jar".
Once opened you should see a window like the below.
The left window (the main window) contains the graph and the right window contains the pseudocode
- Left click to create a node.
- Left click and move on a node node to move it.
- Right click on a node or edge to remove it.
- Right click and drag to draw edges between nodes, letting go of right click when hovering over another node.
- Double left click on a node to set the node as a root/goal or unset the node type.
The pseudocode window is not interactive as is just there to provide help for learning a search algorithm.
The menu dropdown contains the following options:
- Run Algorithm – Run the current search algorithm on the current graph and start the visualisation. (Disables graph edits and some menu items, until visualisation is stopped)
- Clear Nodes – Remove all of the nodes in the graph.
- Reset Nodes – Reset the states of all the nodes in the graph, for example, if the nodes are labelled as visited or explored.
- Hide Pseudocode – Show or hide the pseudocode window.
- Node Label Type – Change the labelling of the nodes to be either Numeric or Alphabetic.
- Generate Random Graph - Generate a random graph triangulation with the entered number of nodes.
The algorithms dropdown contains the following options:
- Breadth-First Search - Changes the current algorithm to BFS.
- Dept-First Search - Changes the current algorithm to DFS.
- Dijkstra's Algorithm - Changes the current algorithm to Dijkstra.
- A* - Changes the current algorithm to A*.
The buttons at the bottom of the main window are for when the search algorithm is being visualised, the Pause/Resume button will either pause or resume the visualisation, the << or >> buttons will step forwards or backwards through the visualisation by 1 step (only when paused), and the Stop button will stop visualisation entirely, allowing graph edits to take place.
