Supporting program development comprehension by visualising iterative design

eL-CID (e-Learning by Communicating Iterative Design) demonstrates computer programs´ iterative design using computer animation. It translates descriptions of iterative editing into an animated demonstration. An analysis of the work of expert programming trainers shows that successive versions of a program are shown statically. eL-CID attempts to visualise the changes dynamically as if code was being edited in front of the user. Several example demonstrations have been developed. To the author´s knowledge, this is the first system designed to visualise the iterative process of program development.