The importance of programming skills has increased with advances in information and communication technology (ICT). However, the difficulty of learning programming is a major problem for novices. Therefore, we propose a logic error detection algorithm based on structure patterns, which are an index of similarity based on abstract syntax trees, and error degree, which is a measure of appropriateness for feedback. We define structure patterns and error degree and present the proposed algorithm. In addition, we develop a Logic Error Detector (LED) Application Programming Interface (API) based on the proposed algorithm. An implementation of the proposed algorithm is used in experiments using actual data from an e-learning system. The results show that the proposed algorithm can accurately detect logic errors in many programs solving problems in the Introduction to Programming set.
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