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VINCE—an on‐line tutorial tool for teaching introductory programming
Author(s) -
Rowe Glenn,
Thorburn Gareth
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
british journal of educational technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.79
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-8535
pISSN - 0007-1013
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8535.00168
Subject(s) - computer science , programming language , java , code (set theory) , function (biology) , line (geometry) , software engineering , geometry , mathematics , set (abstract data type) , evolutionary biology , biology
We describe a tutorial tool which allows the execution of a C program to be graphically displayed. VINCE (Visual Instruction for Novices in a C Environment) is written in Java, allowing it to be used on the web. The student can enter their own C code, or select from a menu of pre‐written tutorials, each illustrating a particular aspect of programming. The tool provides a simulated map of the computer's memory, showing where pointers and variables are stored. The map is dynamically updated as the program is executed. Explanatory notes for each step are provided. The program's function stack may be viewed. At present, the tool can only deal with syntactically correct C code. The package may be used at