Abstract
To assist Java programming educations, we have developed a Web-based Java Programming Learning Assistant System (JPLAS). JPLAS provides the element fill-in-blank problem to help novice students self-study Java programming by filling in blanked elements in a code. However, it is a pity that this problem can be solvable without reading the algorithm in the code, especially if students are familiar with grammar. In this paper, we propose the value trace problem to answer the changing values of important variables in a Java code that implements a fundamental data structure or algorithm, so as to improve the code reading capability. To verify the effectiveness, we generated five problems using Java codes for sorting and asked 10 students in our group to solve them.
Highlights
The programming language Java has high reliability and portability with excellent learning environments provided
We proposed the graph-based blank element selection algorithm to assist generating a feasible element fill-in-blank problem from a Java code, where the unique answer exists for any blank element
We propose the value trace problem as a new type of an element fill-inblank problem in Java Programming Learning Assistant System (JPLAS)
Summary
The programming language Java has high reliability and portability with excellent learning environments provided. The industries have a strong demand to cultivate more Java programmers. A lot of universities and professional schools are offering Java programming courses to deal with the demands. A Java programming course usually combines grammar instructions of classroom lectures and programming exercises performed in a computer operations. JPLAS provides the element fill-in-blank problem to support self-studies of students. It intends for novice students to learn the Java grammar and basic programming. In this problem, a high-quality Java code with blanked elements is exhibited for students to fill in the blanks with correct elements. Any answer is marked by string matching with the correct element
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