Graph-Based Procedural Abstraction

Synchronized Shared Memory and Procedural Abstraction: Towards a Formal Semantics of Blech

2020 Forum for Specification and Design Languages (FDL) ◽

10.1109/fdl50818.2020.9232942 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

F. Gretz ◽

F-J. Grosch ◽

M. Mendler ◽

S. Scheele

Keyword(s):

Shared Memory ◽

Formal Semantics ◽

Procedural Abstraction

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Forms/3: A first-order visual language to explore the boundaries of the spreadsheet paradigm

Journal of Functional Programming ◽

10.1017/s0956796800003828 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 155-206 ◽

Cited By ~ 81

Author(s):

MARGARET BURNETT ◽

JOHN ATWOOD ◽

REBECCA WALPOLE DJANG ◽

JAMES REICHWEIN ◽

HERKIMER GOTTFRIED ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Programming ◽

Evaluation Model ◽

Visual Language ◽

Data Abstraction ◽

First Order ◽

Programming Paradigm ◽

Wide Acceptance ◽

Language Characteristics ◽

Procedural Abstraction ◽

Human Effectiveness

Although detractors of functional programming sometimes claim that functional programming is too difficult or counter-intuitive for most programmers to understand and use, evidence to the contrary can be found by looking at the popularity of spreadsheets. The spreadsheet paradigm, a first-order subset of the functional programming paradigm, has found wide acceptance among both programmers and end users. Still, there are many limitations with most spreadsheet systems. In this paper, we discuss language features that eliminate several of these limitations without deviating from the first-order, declarative evaluation model. The language used to illustrate these features is a research language called Forms/3. Using Forms/3, we show that procedural abstraction, data abstraction and graphics output can be supported in the spreadsheet paradigm. We show that, with the addition of a simple model of time, animated output and GUI I/O also become viable. To demonstrate generality, we also present an animated Turing machine simulator programmed using these features. Throughout the paper, we combine our discussion of the programming language characteristics with how the language features prototyped in Forms/3 relate to what is known about human effectiveness in programming.

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Designing a Programming Game to Improve Children’s Procedural Abstraction Skills in Scratch

Journal of Educational Computing Research ◽

10.1177/0735633120932871 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 58 (7) ◽

pp. 1372-1411 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Simon P. Rose ◽

M. P. Jacob Habgood ◽

Tim Jay

Keyword(s):

Computer Science ◽

Digital Literacy ◽

Game Design ◽

Educational Games ◽

Compulsory Education ◽

Educational Game ◽

Code Smells ◽

Programming Tools ◽

Block Based ◽

Procedural Abstraction

The recent shift in compulsory education from ICT-focused computing curricula to informatics, digital literacy and computer science, has resulted in children being taught computing using block-based programming tools such as Scratch, with teaching that is often limited by school resources and teacher expertise. Even without these limitations, Scratch users often produce code with ‘code smells’ such as duplicate blocks and long scripts which impact how they understand and debug projects. These code smells can be removed using procedural abstraction, an important concept in computer science rarely taught to this age group. This article describes the design of a novel educational block-based programming game, Pirate Plunder, which concentrates on how procedural abstraction is introduced and reinforced. The article then reports an extended evaluation to measure the game’s efficacy with children aged 10 and 11, finding that children who played the game were then able to use procedural abstraction in Scratch. The article then uses game analytics to explore why the game was effective and gives three recommendations for educational game design based on this research: using learning trajectories and restrictive success conditions to introduce complex content, increasing learner investment through customisable avatars and suggestions for improving the evaluations of educational games.

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