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Like by Hand: Layout and Interactivity for Understanding Program Control Flow
Katherine Isaacs
Virtual- https://umd.zoom.us/j/98095131895?pwd=bFRySUJZSytQcjFVVis0dFpuWU1TZz09
Tuesday, February 15, 2022, 11:00 am-12:00 pm Calendar
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Abstract

Visualization can be a powerful tool in computer systems research, aiding computer scientists in verifying, debugging, or ideating new computational methods. However, the data collected in this context is often vast and complex, with emphasis on data connections. These characteristics limit the utility of out-of-the-box visualization solutions. This is critically true of control flow graphs (CFGs), which are networks representing possible paths of a given program’s execution. CFGs are central to both manual and automated program analysis with applications in computer security, compilation, and optimization.  General graph drawing approaches can limit the utility of CFG visualization, producing drawings that are difficult to interpret when applied beyond toy programs. We develop a layout approach that preserves and emphasizes computing-specific structures such as loops and functions in a manner similar to hand-drawn versions. We present interactive visualization systems with CFGs in two different research scenarios, designed through immersive collaboration with active research teams. Finally, from these experiences and a review of in-the-wild representations, we develop a library for filtering and drawing CFGs to support future visual analysis scenarios.

Bio

Kate Isaacs is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona. Her interests include data visualization and high performance computing. She focuses on visualization challenges in complex exploratory analysis scenarios such as those of active research teams. These challenges include representational and interactive scalability concerns for networks and timelines, integrating interactive visualizations in scripting workflows, and improving visualization methodologies for such projects. Kate has collaborated with researchers in high performance computing, distributed computing, data science, program analysis, optimization, and environmental planning. Her work is supported by the NSF and DOE, including an NSF CRII award in 2017, an NSF CAREER award in 2019, and a DOE Early Career Research Program award in 2021.

This talk is organized by Richa Mathur