How StackVision Works

A technical overview of the visualization engine that powers real-time code execution visualization.

System Architecture

StackVision uses a multi-stage pipeline to transform source code into visual step-by-step execution traces. The system is designed for real-time responsiveness and educational clarity.

Step 1

Parse

Source code is parsed into an AST (Abstract Syntax Tree)

Step 2

Execute

The AST is interpreted step-by-step with memory tracking

Step 3

Transform

Each step produces a snapshot of all variables and arrays

Step 4

Visualize

Snapshots are rendered as animated visual components

Execution Engine

The C execution engine is a lightweight interpreter that supports the following constructs:

Variable declarations (int, float, char)
Array declarations with optional initialization
For loops with nested statements
Arithmetic expressions (+, -, *, /, %)
Array element access and assignment
Printf with format strings (%d)
Comparison operators (<, >, <=, >=, ==, !=)
Nested variable scopes

Visualization Components

Each execution step generates a snapshot containing:

Array View

Displays array cells with values. Active cells (being modified) glow blue. Filled cells show their values with a subtle background.

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Variable Panel

Shows all variables in the current scope with highlighted changes.

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AI Tutor

Each step includes a natural language explanation generated by our AI model, describing what the code does and why.

Tech Stack

FrontendNext.js + React + TypeScript
StylingTailwind CSS
Code EditorMonaco Editor (VS Code engine)
DeploymentVercel (frontend) + Render (backend)
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