SORTDEMO.BAS
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN fondly recalls it as the ideal visual demonstration of sorting algorithms and as the thing that got some people into programming.
What it is
A three-minute capture of SORTDEMO.BAS, the sorting visualization that shipped with QBasic. It animates insertion, bubble, heap, exchange, shell and quick sort with chiptune-like sound.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2019 to 2023.
What Hacker News said
Recommends choult · 2022-05 · on “The Good Ol' Days of QBasic Nibbles”
Q(uick)Basic was my first programming language, and as others mentioned NIBBLES and GORILLAS.BAS were bundled with it. It also had the ability to compile down to an executable, which was fantastic. One bundled script I don't see mentioned yet was SORTDEMO.BAS - this is still my ideal for demonstrating different sorts visually: [this video]
Cites agf · 2019-02 · on “Bubble Sort: An Archaeological Algorithmic Analysis”
I discovered sorting algorithms (including bubblesort) from SORTDEMO.BAS -- [this video] -- which came with QBasic.
Cites LVB · 2023-01 · on “Ask HN: What's your favorite illustration in Computer Science?”
Watching SORTDEMO.BAS at the formative age of ~11 baited me into programming. I recall messing around trying to make even faster versions. [this video]