SortingViz – Sorting Algorithms Visualizer (WinForms, .NET 8)

EN (English)
A lightweight Windows Forms app for teaching sorting algorithms through animation. It’s a C#/.NET 8 port of an older Java AWT project (by Zdravko Lukić, 2015), expanded with metrics (comparisons, swaps, time) and Big-O summaries, plus adjustable animation speed.

SR (Srpski)
Lagani WinForms program za učenje sortiranja kroz animaciju. Port starijeg Java AWT projekta (autor Zdravko Lukić, 2015) u C#/.NET 8, proširen metrikama (poređenja, zamene, vreme) i Big-O pregledom, uz klizač za brzinu animacije.

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✨ Features / Karakteristike

• Live visualization / Vizuelizacija u realnom vremenu
• Metrics: comparisons, swaps, steps, elapsed time
  Metrike: poređenja, zamene, koraci, trajanje
• Big-O panel: Best / Average / Worst / Space
  Big-O panel: Najbolji / Prosek / Najgori / Memorija
• Speed control / Kontrola brzine: delay slider (0–200 ms)
• Pluggable algorithms / Lako dodavanje algoritama

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✅ Supported algorithms / Podržani algoritmi

• Bubble, Insertion, Selection
• Quick, Shell, Heap, Merge (crveno/plavo bojenje podnizova), Radix (LSD)

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📦 Requirements / Zahtevi

• Windows
• .NET 8 SDK (and Visual Studio 2022+ or dotnet CLI)

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🚀 Run / Pokretanje

1. Clone or copy the project / Kloniraj ili kopiraj projekat
2. Open in Visual Studio or from terminal:

   dotnet build
   dotnet run

3. The app starts with the main UI form (SortingViz). Aplikacija se pokreće sa glavnom formom (SortingViz).

Program.cs - example

using System.Windows.Forms;

ApplicationConfiguration.Initialize();
Application.Run(new SortingViz(new SortAlgorithm[]
{
    new BubbleSort(),
    new InsertionSort(),
    new SelectionSort(),
    new QuickSort(),
    new ShellSort(),
    new HeapSort(),
    new MergeSort(),
    new RadixSort()
}));

🧠 How it works / Kako radi

• BufferedCanvas: custom double-buffer control (off-screen Bitmap), safe drawing API (WithGraphics(Action)) i Present() za repaint.

• VisualSortArray: čuva vrednosti, crta stubce, prati metrike, izlaže Compare, Swap, Highlight, SmallDelay, Values (za ne-komparativne algoritme kao Radix/Merge).

• SortAlgorithm: apstraktna baza; algoritam implementira Sort(VisualSortArray) i Big-O stringove.

• SortThread: izvršava sortiranje u pozadinskoj niti i javlja završetak (UI osveži metrike).

• SortingViz: glavni UI (dropdown za algoritam, Size/Scale, Delay slider, metrics & Big-O).

• SortFrame: hostuje jedan canvas i uredno zaustavlja sort nit pri zatvaranju.

⏱️ Speed control / Kontrola brzine

• Delay slider (0–200 ms) u gornjoj traci.

• Interno: VisualSortArray.SetDelay(ms) → SmallDelay() se poziva (tipično posle Swap, opciono i u Compare).

Tip: Za veće nizove, 10–30 ms je jasno; za demonstracije 50–100 ms.

➕ Add a new algorithm / Dodavanje novog algoritma

1. Napravi klasu u Algorithms/ koja nasleđuje SortAlgorithm.

2. Implementiraj:

• public override string Name => "YourAlgo";

• Big-O stringove

• public override void Sort(VisualSortArray a) koristeći a.Compare(i,j), a.Swap(i,j), opciono a.Highlight(...), a.SmallDelay()

3. Dodaj u listu u Program.cs.

4. (Opc.) ubaci Big-O red u rečnik u MagicSort.

Primer

public sealed class MySort : SortAlgorithm
{
    public override string Name => "MySort";
    public override string ComplexityBest => "O(n log n)";
    public override string ComplexityAverage => "O(n log n)";
    public override string ComplexityWorst => "O(n²)";

    public override void Sort(VisualSortArray a)
    {
        // use a.Compare, a.Swap, a.Highlight, a.SmallDelay
    }
}

🔧 Troubleshooting / Rešavanje problema

• System.ArgumentException: “Parameter is not valid.” Najčešće crtanje preko zastarelog/odbačenog Graphics posle resize-a. ✔️ Koristi BufferedCanvas.WithGraphics(...) (uvek svež Graphics i lock); ne keširaj Graphics.

• InvalidOperationException: “Object is currently in use elsewhere.” UI nit slika _buffer dok pozadinska nit upisuje u isti bitmap. ✔️ Sav pristup _buffer je serijalizovan u WithGraphics; OnPaint koristi isti lock.

• Cross-thread UI pozivi ✔️ Present() je thread-safe (koristi BeginInvoke).

📚 Credits / Zahvale

Original Java concept & code: Zdravko Lukić (2015)

C#/.NET 8 WinForms port + features: collaborative refactor in this project

📄 License / Licenca

This project is licensed under the MIT License. Ovaj projekat je licenciran pod MIT licencom.

See LICENSE for full text. Pogledaj LICENSE za ceo tekst.

🗣️ Notes / Napomene

• MergeSort: levo podpolje crveno, desno plavo tokom spajanja.

• Radix (LSD): podrazumeva ne-negativne vrednosti; negativni se mogu podržati podelom i spajanjem sekvenci.

• Scale utiče na širinu stubca i veličinu platna (size * scale).