A "CS 1.5" introduction to web programming

Abstract

Web programming is increasing rapidly in importance at the university level, yet there is no consensus about when and how it should be incorporated into the computer science curriculum. This paper describes our results in teaching an experimental introductory web programming course at the University of Washington that has had great success in attracting large numbers of students from inside and outside the computer science major. The course requires CS1 as a prerequisite, striking a good balance between making the course open to non-majors but also more rigorous for students with programming background. We classify the course as CS 1.5 because many of our students take it between CS1 and CS2. We use our evaluation data to argue that a web programming course at this level leads to a great deal of student interest and enthusiasm, broadens the reach of computer science, and provides a valuable service to other departments.