Exploiting Smalltalk Modules in a Customizable Programming Environment

This paper describes how we have extended a module structure of the Smalltalk LearningWorks to provide a programming environment deigned for very large scale technology transfer. The ‘module’ is what we have termed the LearningBook, a set of classes and persistent objects, including an HTML browser, programming and visualization tools, and microworlds. The context for this development is a distance learning university course in object technology which has enrolled over 5,100 mature students in its first year – making it the largest such course in the world. While promoting a systems building approach, we have successfully added support for programming in the small and the needs of the isolated novice. Two principles have applied: (i) the programming environment and its modules fit into a consistent framework for personal management of study and (ii) details of complex facilities, such as the class library, are progressively disclosed as knowledge and sophistication grow. The pap...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1999
• Where: ICSE
• Authors: Mark Woodman, Robert Griffiths, Malcolm Macgregor, Simon Holland, Hugh Robinson
• Keywords: ICSE 1999, Programming Environment, Smalltalk Programming Environment, Software Engineering, Technology Transfer