![]() In practice, a lot of students try Eclipse, think it’s pretty cool, and then come back to jGRASP because it’s just friendlier. It works much better with a formal version control system like SVN or Mercurial but I’m not interested in taking time out of programming to teach tools in CS1. Its file management process is confusing and students often end up with duplicate files and have a hard time with version control. The truth, though, is that Eclipse is unnecessarily unwieldy for small projects with a handful of classes. #Java api jgrasp codeThey’re really impressed by code completion and can see the power of a full-blown IDE complete with plugins, version control support, etc. At that point, managing files in jGRASP is getting a little annoying and students know enough different classes that they’re having trouble remembering relevant fields and methods. I introduce Eclipse when we get to multi-class projects. JGRASP is the tool I reach for when I want to write a quick bit of Java for a personal project, a proof of concept or something like that. Using the AP CS Gridworld case study with jGRASP is trivial and I show my students a couple of screenshots to help them get them going. I show my students a slightly modified tutorial written by Marty Stepp early in the semester. There’s no code completion, but I consider that a feature - I don’t want my students relying on it early. Everything a student learns using jGRASP will transfer to a more powerful IDE. JGRASP is not used in industry, but I don’t think that really matters. I haven’t used this much but there’s a nice tutorial on viewers on the jGRASP site. I tend to use a lot of hand drawings and ask my students to hand-draw code visualizations when debugging but I can imagine many teachers getting excited about jGRASP’s object visualization capabilities. All variables are shown with their values in a side bar, as is the call stack. An arrow allows for stepping through as the lines being run are highlighted. The debugger is very simple to use: breakpoints are dropped by clicking in the margin of a particular line and a ladybug icon starts the debugger. Furthermore, it runs anywhere Java runs, so students can work from home in a familiar environment. This means that nothing is hidden from students and that they can manage their Java files as they would any other. jGRASP doesn’t attempt to do any file management and doesn’t require programs to be contained in a project, though that is an option. The interface is very simple and students really only need to learn two buttons: compile a program (a green plus) and run it (a running red figure). I start my students out with jGRASP and I recommend it without reservations. I’m very interested in what others would have to say on this matter. I’ll start by briefly discussing the two IDEs I prefer and then give some of my insights into others I have thought about. ![]()
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