Visualization Tools User's Guide


Example: Using the Cluster View

To see how the Cluster View displays object interaction, try the following example.

  1. Open an Object Visualizer, and add the classes VtExampleItem and VtExampleList, as in Example: Using the Object Visualizer.
  2. Evaluate the code: VtExampleList new: 8.
  3. In the Instances pane, choose Select All from the popup menu.
  4. In the Instances pane, choose Browse Clusters from the popup menu.
  5. An Instance Cluster View appears. It contains a labeled rectangle for each instance. Initially, the rectangles are all positioned one over top of the other at the center of the window.

    If you wish, you may drag each instance apart from the others a bit using the mouse.

    Figure 7.



    Instance Cluster View

  6. Move the Instance Cluster View window so that it will not be hidden by the workspace you are executing code in.
  7. Evaluate the code,
    VtExampleList the heavyPath: 10000 depth: 5
    
    .

    Watch as the items spread apart on the screen. The line flickering between items shows messages being sent. When the animation is over, a small number of instances will be clustered together near the center of the window. These are the instances which interacted heavily with one another. The rest, relatively unused, will be spread out further towards the edges of the window.

    Figure 8.



    Instance Cluster Interaction

  8. Close the Instance Cluster View.
  9. End the Object Visualizer session as in Example: Using the Object Visualizer.


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