Visualizing Computation/Function Machine
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Function machine is a popular metaphor for visualizing input and output of a procedure, or the idea of a function, and related notions. It is accessible to toddlers, yet is robust enough to be taken to college-level work.
History and Known Uses[edit | edit source]
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What is Being Visualized[edit | edit source]
- Input and output
- Function
Visualization Techniques[edit | edit source]
The basic visual metaphor is a machine that "does something" to objects that enter into one of its openings, and exit through another. In this form, it immediately supports:
- Input and output
- Inverse functions ("machine working backwards")
- Domain and range ("what can go into the machine and what can come out")
Extensions of the metaphor include:
- Iteration and cycles("a tube connecting the output of the machine to the input")
- Multi-variable functions ("many input openings")
- Composition of functions ("two or more machines attached together")