aslam@sp63.csrd.uiuc.edu (Sohail Aslam) (03/14/91)
Archive-name: graphics/environments/bwe/1991-03-07 Archive: wilma.cs.brown.edu:/pub/README [128.148.31.66] Original-posting-by: aslam@sp63.csrd.uiuc.edu (Sohail Aslam) Original-subject: Brown Univ. electronic classroom -- followup Reposted-by: emv@msen.com (Edward Vielmetti, MSEN) I have gotten enough information to get the ball rolling. I thought I'll pass it on to all those who may be interested. The Brown project is quite large. It is made up of various elements, e.g., BWE -- Brown Workstation environment, Tango, BALSA, FIELD etc. The README file in ~ftp/pub directory on wilma.cs.brown.edu ( 128.148.31.66) has info on all these. Here are couple of mail messages I have received that shed light on the subject. I thank all who sent me mail. Sohail Aslam aslam@csrd.uiuc.edu --------------- From: golin@cs.uiuc.edu The project you refer to is called BALSA. The original implementation ran on the network of Apollo workstations using in the "electronic classroom". This version may have been ported to Sun's (Brown now has a classroom full of Sparcstations) - and I'm not sure whether it is still used in CS21 (the data structures course for which Sedgewick's book was written). I don't know whether this software is available (I haven't seen it on their ftp distribution machine), but you can contact redsoft@cs.brown.edu to inquire. A second implementation done by Marc Brown ran on Mac's. I contacted him last year, and he was preparing to release this version (for $$). Marc can be reached at mhb@src.dec.com (last I knew). Another algorithm animation project at Brown is the Tango system, done by John Stasko as his PhD thesis in 1989. This system is far more flexible than BALSA for generating animations. I use it occasionally in CS318 to demonstrate basic graphics algorithms, and I believe Prof. Agha is using it in CS225. Eric Golin ------------------------ From: spr@cs.brown.edu (Steve Reiss) You should send a phone number to brusd@cs.brown.edu to get the password for field. You will be called back with the number. The ftp machine is at 128.148.31.66; everything but field itself is in /pub and is generally available. --------------- From: mhb@src.dec.com (Marc H. Brown) I imagine that somebody from Brown has contacted you about obtaining the current workstation-based software. I believe it's available to educational sites via FTP, but I don't the details. I also do not know how much of the BALSA system that I implemented with Bob Sedgewick is still running, and what has been reimplemented in Steve Reiss's current FIELD environment using John Stasko's TANGO. A collection of nifty algorithm animations is available as part of MacBALSA. An early version of hat system formed the basis of my dissertation, and I've done a bit of coding on it since then.