Learning to Program with Alice, CourseSmart eTextbook

For courses in C++ - Intro to Programming/CS1, Java - Intro to Programming/CS1, and Introduction to Computer Science.

 

Today's CS1 instructors must contend with an increased curriculum load, due to a switch from imperative languages to object-oriented languages such as C++ or Java — as well as students with little or no programming experience who are at high risk of dropping the CS major. Recognizing that fact, this text supports an innovative approach to teaching and learning fundamental programming concepts. The authors use program visualization to create an easy relationship between program construct and the animation action in a 3D world. Pedagogical goals include a fundamental introduction to programming with objects, methods, decision statements, loops, recursion, and problem solving.

Table of Contents           iii

Preface to the Instructor      

Part I: Introduction to Alice                   

1 Getting Started with Alice               

    1-1 Introduction to Alice      

1-2 Alice Concepts   

Tips & Techniques 1:  Special Effects: Text and 2D Graphic Images     

2 Program Design and Implementation                      

2-1 Scenarios and Storyboards                  

2-2 A First Program   

Exercises 

Summary 

3 Programming: Putting Together the Pieces           

3-1 Built-in Functions and Expressions                  

3-2 Simple Control Structures

Tips & Techniques 3: Engineering Look and Feel          

Exercises 

Summary 

Part II: Object-oriented and Event-driven Programming Concepts         

4 Classes, Objects, Methods, and Parameters   

4-1 World-level Methods 

4-2 Parameters                  

4-3 Class-level Methods and Inheritance                  

Tips & Techniques 4: Visible and Invisible Objects  

Exercises and Projects                

Summary 123

5 Interaction: Events and Event Handling                    

5-1 Interactive Programming             

5-2 Passing Parameters to Event Handling Methods

Tips & Techniques 5: Events

Exercises and Projects                

Summary

Part III: Using Functions and Control Statements    

6 Functions  and If/Else 

6-1 Functions                

6-2 Execution Control with If/Else and Boolean Functions                

Tips & Techniques 6: Random Numbers and Random Motion  

Exercises and Projects                

Summary 190

7 Repetition: Definite and Indefinite Loops         

7-1 Loops                

7-2 While – An Indefinite Loop      

Tips & Techniques 7: Events and Repetition                

Exercises and Projects                

Summary

8 Repetition:  Recursion  

8-1 Introduction to Recursion                

8-2 Another Flavor of Recursion                

Tips & Techniques 8: Camera and Animation Controls

Exercises and Projects                

Summary

Part IV: Advanced Topics                        

9 Lists and List Processing 

9-1 Lists 

9-2 List Search    

Tips & Techniques 9: Poses 

Exercises and Projects                

Summary

10 Variables and Revisiting Inheritance

10 -1 Variables

10-2 An Array Visualization Using an Index Variable 

Exercises and Projects                

Summary

11 What’s Next?          

Appendix      

Appendix A: Using Alice

Part 1: Running virtual worlds in Alice      

Part 2: Using Popup Menus to Create an Initial Scene                

Appendix B: Managing the Alice Interface                    

Index