visuaLAG

(visual Language Agnostic Game)

Problem

LeetCode is an almost ubiquitous platform for honing algorithmic skills. However, grinding LeetCode problems is tedious and boring; the only stimulating feedback are the green checkmarks appearing when testcases pass.

Idea

What if we could visualize the execution of a LeetCode problem? This would provide a more engaging and stimulating experience for the user. It would also provide a more intuitive way to understand the inner workings of an algorithm.

Solution

visuaLAG (visual Language Agnostic Game) is command-line application that helps visualize and gamify the execution of LeetCode problems. We structure stages pedagogically, so users can gradually learn algorithmic techniques while taking on more challenging problems.

Users are given provided template files in a language of their choice, where they must then read the problem statement and implement the solution. Running the game then runs the user's code, passing it input, and collecting their output, then visualizing the execution of their algorithm. If the user has written incorrect code, then they can easily see where they went wrong, and what mistakes their algorithm has.

Tech Stack

We used Rust and the Bevy game engine to implement the visualizations of each stage, taking in the user code's output and displaying it in an intuitive way. The Rust code is contained in the game/ directory.

We used Racket to implement the user-facing command-line interface, which allows users to generate templates for a chosen stage and language, and run their code that is then visualized. The Racket code is contained in the gameio/ directory.

Usage

Pre-requisites

• Rust and Cargo
• Racket and raco

Installation

In the game/ directory:

$ cargo build --release
$ mv target/release/game ../gameio/

In the gameio/ directory:

$ raco pkg install --auto
$ raco exe main.rkt
$ mv main ./gameio

Running

To generate a template for a stage:

$ ./gameio --language <language> --stage <stage>

To run your code against a stage:

$ ./gameio --language <language> --stage <stage> --filename <file>

Built With

• python
• racket
• rust