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View all- McGee LPolychronopoulos GWilson C(1987)The influence of BASIC on performance in introductory computer science courses using PascalACM SIGCSE Bulletin10.1145/36093.3610319:3(29-34)Online publication date: 1-Sep-1987
Experiences with PASCAL in an introductory course
Abstract
Beginning September, 1975, the Computer Science Department at the University of Western Ontario switched from FORTRAN to PASCAL as the primary language in the first year introductory course. The motivation for such a change was to introduce into the first year course concepts and issues which were becoming central to Computer Science. In particular, the instructors involved in the course wished to a) emphasize algorithm design, effect of choice of representation on design and the creation of well-structured programs, b) expose students to the use of a variety of control structures and data structures, c) introduce, at least informally, the notions of complexity and correctness.
It was felt that not only would such a course provide a good introduction to Computer Science for all students taking the course, but that those continuing with Computer Science as a chosen field would be well-prepared for subsequent courses. Since PASCAL could satisfy these requirements and a good implementation (on a CDC Cyber 6600) of the language was already available, it was the logical choice.
References
[1]
Collens, P., Collens, R., Peterkin, C., Scuse, D. and Stanton, R. Structured FORTRAN with WATFIX-S and WATFOR-llS, Charles Babbage Research Center, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 1975.
[2]
Conway, R. and Gries, D. An Introduction to Programming: A Structured Approach Using PL/l and PL/C, Winthrop Publishers, Cambridge, Mass., 1973.
[3]
Holt, R., Hume, J.N.P., Structured Programming using PL/l and SP/k, Reston Pub. Co., 1975.
[4]
Jensen, K. and Wirth, N. PASCAL User's Manual and Report, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1974.
[5]
Nutt, G., "A Comparison of PASCAL and FORTRAN as Introductory Programming Languages", SIGPLAN Notices, Vol. 13, No. 2, 1978.
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- Experiences with PASCAL in an introductory course
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Association for Computing Machinery
New York, NY, United States
Publication History
Published: 01 January 1979
Published in SIGCSE Volume 11, Issue 1
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View all- McGee LPolychronopoulos GWilson C(1987)The influence of BASIC on performance in introductory computer science courses using PascalACM SIGCSE Bulletin10.1145/36093.3610319:3(29-34)Online publication date: 1-Sep-1987
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