Expressions in Java: Essential, Prevalent, Neglected?In Person
Expressions are the building blocks of formal languages such as lambda calculus as well as of programming languages that are closely modeled after it. Although expressions are also an important part of programs in languages like Java, that are not primarily functional, teaching practices typically don’t focus as much on expressions.
We conduct both a theoretical analysis of the Java language, as well as an empirical analysis of the use of expressions in Java programs by novices, to understand the role expressions play in writing programs. We then proceed by systematically analyzing teaching materials for Java to characterize how they present expressions.
Our findings show that expressions are an essential construct in Java, that they are prevalent in student code, but that current textbooks do not introduce expressions as the central, general, and compositional concept they are.
Mon 5 DecDisplayed time zone: Auckland, Wellington change
13:30 - 15:00 | Afternoon 1SPLASH-E at Seminar Room G125 Chair(s): Eli Tilevich Virginia Tech The session is hybrid, with the first talk being virtual, and the second in-person. The physical venue G125 has video equipment for online presentation via airmeet. The SPLASH 2022 airmeet page is: https://tinyurl.com/splash2022virtual. Look for the SPLASH-E sessions there and bookmark them. For issues, use the airmeet chat if you are joining online, and look for the student volunteer Wang Chengpeng, if you in G125. | ||
13:30 30mTalk | Team Harmony before, during, and after COVID-19Virtual SPLASH-E Noa Heyl University of British Columbia, Elisa Baniassad University of British Columbia, Oluwakemi Ola University of British Columbia DOI | ||
14:00 30mTalk | Expressions in Java: Essential, Prevalent, Neglected?In Person SPLASH-E DOI | ||
14:30 30mOther | Discussion SPLASH-E | ||