Review Questions - University of Notre Dame

I have served as technical editor for books on C++ and Java and I currently teach
a course that is largely concerned with programming in Java. I have no real
experience ... I do like the authors' idea of including more advanced, as well as
basic, exercises so that the instructor has a choice in what to assign. 7. Is the
target ...

Part of the document


Review Questions
Proposal
Introduction to Object Oriented Programming Using C#: An Information
Systems Approach

1. Your course - please tell us the department you teach in, the name and
number of your course, how often the course is offered and approximately
how many students per class.

Robert N. Barger, Ph.D.
Computer Applications Program, University of Notre Dame
CAPP481 World Wide Web Programming
Offered every Fall senester, 28 students per class

About the proposal....

2. Is C# an effective language to use to teach introductory programming to
students?

Yes. The actual language that is taught is not the crucial factor for an
introductory programming course, in my opinion. I would consider the
requirements for an introductory course to be that it is object oriented
and that it is relatively easy to learn.

2a. Do you agree with the author's opinion that C# has good growth
prospects?

I am afraid so. I say that because I am not a fan of Microsoft, which is
supporting this language. But I do think that the authors' optimism for
C#'s prospects is well-founded. I view this language as a competitor to
Java, which is supported by Microsoft's competitor, Sun Microsystems. The
C# language is arguably an improvement on Java Since my guess is that Sun
is not likely to eventually triumph over Microsoft, C# should be a strong
competitor to Java for the foreseeable future and may eventually overtake
it entirely. In any event, it should be a language-of-choice for many
developers for some time to come.

2b. Is C# a language that better prepares students for more complex
applications with C++ or Java?

I have served as technical editor for books on C++ and Java and I currently
teach a course that is largely concerned with programming in Java. I have
no real experience with C#. However, the claim that the similarities of C#
to Java make it easier for a student to move from C# to Java would seem to
make sense to me.

3. What is your response to the author's vision of the book and "the three
elements that account for the uniqueness of our book"? Do you find the
vision to be compelling and attractive?

I agree with the vision statement and its three points. I was a professor
of educational theory for seventeen years before I got into computing and I
feel that the "learning by doing" approach is the only valid way to
proceed. I am also very committed to the object oriented approach. OOP has
established itself as the most logical way to program and thus it makes
sense to introduce it from the very beginning. Finally, using the language
for programming exercises is an application of the "learning by doing"
principle. It is the only way for the student to be sure that she/he
understands what she/he has read in the lesson.

4. Do you like the approach of integrating object oriented programming
throughout the book?

Yes. As I have explained in my answer to the previous question, I think
object-orientation is very important and that students should see the whole
language from an OOP view.

5. Is the table of contents organized logically? Are topics missing? Would
it work in your course?

The TOC is OK. I don't tend to argue with authors on how they want to
arrange their book. In many, if not most, cases the authors have based the
book on their notes for a course that they have taught. Thus they know from
experience what the progression of topics should be and what should be
included or excluded. I don't see anything essential missing here.

6. Do you find the proposed length to be appropriate for your course?

I sometimes think programming books tend to be too long. I do like the
authors' idea of including more advanced, as well as basic, exercises so
that the instructor has a choice in what to assign.

7. Is the target audience described by the authors consistent with your
students?

No, my students are required to have another programming course before they
take my course.

8. What is your response to the six key points ..."Why someone would want
purchase this book"? Would one or more of these points cause you to adopt
the book, or at least consider it seriously for adoption in your course?

Yes, I feel all six points are valid selling points for the proposed book.
If I were teaching an introductory programming course, I would certainly
consider such a book very seriously. But I will never adopt a book sight
unseen (...I once adopted a second edition, sight unseen, of a text that I
had been using and it turned out to be actually worse than the first
edition!).

9. Please describe in a few sentences your overall reaction to this
proposal. Do you think you could adopt this book if published largely as
described here?

I am very favorably disposed to this proposal. The authors make a good case
for the merits of C# as an introductory language and their teaching
philosophy is very similar to my own. As I said in my previous answer, if I
were teaching an introductory course I would very seriously consider
adopting this book.