Learners Programming Language a Helping System for Introductory Programming Courses

Abstract

Programming is the core of computer science and due to this momentousness a special care is taken in designing the curriculum of programming courses. A substantial work has been conducted on the definition of programming courses, yet the introductory programming courses are still facing high attrition, low retention and lack of motivation. This paper introduced a tiny pre-programming language called LPL (Learners Programming Language) as a ZPL (Zeroth Programming Language) to illuminate novice students about elementary concepts of introductory programming before introducing the first imperative programming course. The overall objective and design philosophy of LPL is based on a hypothesis that the soft introduction of a simple and paradigm specific textual programming can increase the motivation level of novice students and reduce the congenital complexities and hardness of the first programming course and eventually improve the retention rate and may be fruitful in reducing the dropout/failure level. LPL also generates the equivalent high level programs from user source program and eventually very fruitful in understanding the syntax of introductory programming languages. To overcome the inherent complexities of unusual and rigid syntax of introductory programming languages, the LPL provide elementary programming concepts in the form of algorithmic and plain natural language based computational statements. The initial results obtained after the introduction of LPL are very encouraging in motivating novice students and improving the retention rate.

Comparison of C++ and Java in Implementing Introductory Programming Algorithms

“…The threshold concepts covered by the selected algorithms are shown in Table 1. For selected algorithms, the source code of C++ and Java are developed with high-level code generator [7]. The current study selected those algorithms which are covered in CS1.…”

“…Software is developed through a formal system called programming languages. Programming is the heart of computer science [7] and a carrier awarding discipline [8]. The job opportunities of programmers are estimated to grow 8% from 2012 to 2022 [9].…”

Integrasi Visualisasi Sintak Bahasa Pemrograman PHP dengan Sistem LMS

“…Secara sederhana, saat seorang mahasiswa mempelajari bahasa pemrograman, terdapat dua bagian penting yang harus dikuasai yakni bagian sintak dan bagian algoritma. Bagian sintak merupakan bagian yang mengatur tata cara penulisan script bahasa pemrograman [9], sedangkan bagian algoritma adalah bagian yang mengatur pola pikir atau sistematika dalam menyelesaikan sebuah permasalahan.…”

“…Penggunaan puzzle dapat memudahkan para pemula untuk menghindari kesalahan dalam penulisan sintak. Kemudahan dalam bentuk visualisasi ini diciptakan untuk para pemula agar mereka tidak kehilangan motivasi belajar, dan pada akhirnya dapat mengurangi kegagalan dalam mempelajari bahasa pemrograman [9]. Pustaka puzzle yang telah dikembangkan selama ini telah mampu membantu para pemula [8][10], namun beberapa pustaka ini masih belum berfokus pada proses pembelajaran karena pengembangan masih berfokus pada penyunting Bahasa pemrograman saja.…”

Pedagogical Significance of Natural Language Programming in Introductory Programming

“…There are many programming languages like Learners Programming Language [39,40], HyperTalk, Resume, AppleScript, xTalk and Lingo that use natural language in their syntax, but the semantics are towards synthesized programming and therefore do not categorize as natural language programming, but as natural language complemented programming [41].…”