A fill-in-blank problem workbook for Java programming learning assistant system

PurposeTo advance Java programming educations, the authors have developed a Java Programming Learning Assistant System (JPLAS) as a web application system. JPLAS provides fill-in-blank problems for novices to study the grammar and basic programming skills through code reading.Design/methodology/appr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of Web information systems Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 140 - 154
Main Authors: Funabiki, Nobuo, Zaw, Khin Khin, Ishihara, Nobuya, Matsumoto, Shinpei, Kao, Wen-Chung
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Bingley Emerald Group Publishing Limited 19.06.2017
Subjects:
Adequacy
Algorithms
Assistants
BASIC (programming language)
Categories
Embedded systems
Java
Learning
Naming
Novices
Onomastics
Readability
Software
Students
Teachers
Textbooks
Websites
ISSN:1744-0084, 1744-0092
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:PurposeTo advance Java programming educations, the authors have developed a Java Programming Learning Assistant System (JPLAS) as a web application system. JPLAS provides fill-in-blank problems for novices to study the grammar and basic programming skills through code reading.Design/methodology/approachTo select the blank elements with grammatically correct and unique answers from a given Java code, the authors have proposed the graph-based blank element selection algorithm. Then, the code for this problem should be highly readable to encourage novice students to study it. Because code readability can be improved by proper names for identifiers, the authors have also proposed the naming rule testing algorithm to identify codes with correct names.FindingsIn this paper, the authors present a fill-in-blank problem workbook by collecting suitable Java codes from textbooks and Web sites and applying these algorithms with several extensions. The workbook consists of 16 categories with a considerable number of problems that follow the conventional learning order of Java programming.Originality/valueThe proper set of ready-made fill-in-blank problems is effective in enhancing the usability of JPLAS both for teachers and students. For the preliminary evaluation, the authors assign a few problems to students. In coming semesters, the authors will use this workbook in the course to verify the adequacy of the proposal for novices.
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ISSN:1744-0084
1744-0092
DOI:10.1108/IJWIS-12-2016-0076