Comprehensive Aspectual UML Approach to Support AspectJ

Unified Modeling Language is the most popular and widely used Object-Oriented modelling language in the IT industry. This study focuses on investigating the ability to expand UML to some extent to model crosscutting concerns (Aspects) to support AspectJ. Through a comprehensive literature review, we identify and extensively examine all the available Aspect-Oriented UML modelling approaches and find that the existing Aspect-Oriented Design Modelling approaches using UML cannot be considered to provide a framework for a comprehensive Aspectual UML modelling approach and also that there is a lack of adequate Aspect-Oriented tool support. This study also proposes a set of Aspectual UML semantic rules and attempts to generate AspectJ pseudocode from UML diagrams. The proposed Aspectual UML modelling approach is formally evaluated using a focus group to test six hypotheses regarding performance; a “good design” criteria-based evaluation to assess the quality of the design; and an AspectJ-based evaluation as a reference measurement-based evaluation. The results of the focus group evaluation confirm all the hypotheses put forward regarding the proposed approach. The proposed approach provides a comprehensive set of Aspectual UML structural and behavioral diagrams, which are designed and implemented based on a comprehensive and detailed set of AspectJ programming constructs

Analysis of the learning object-oriented programming factors

Students often feel overwhelmed by object-oriented programming courses. They find it difficult and complex to learn, requiring a high cognitive load to use the concepts in coding. These issues lead to demotivation in learning programming. This research aims to identify and verify factors that contribute to learning object-oriented programming from two perspectives: interviews and surveys. A literature review was conducted to identify these factors, followed by interviews with five experts who have been teaching object-oriented programming for over ten years to confirm them. Based on the interview results, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 31 bachelor students and 19 lecturers with master’s or doctorate degrees in computer science. The responses indicated that the identified factors were acceptable, with scores ranging from 3.74 to 4.65. The outcomes of this study are a set of factors that should be considered in a programming environment to improve the teaching and learning of object-oriented programming and make it more accessible and engaging for students

A Design for Challenge-Based Learning of Programming

Computer Science students are expected to acquire good programming skills. Both students and instructors accept that learning programming for first-year college students is fairly difficult. To assist students to achieve this goal, instructors will have to adopt a suitable design for programming courses. This paper reports on the design of a Computer Programming course based on the integrated course design approach, which was conducted by a research group at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia from the Faculty of Information Science and Technology. The course is designed to provide relevant teaching and learning activities, feedback, and assessment that will ultimately support the learning goals of students. The design will provide opportunities for preparation time, meaningful feedback, and a competitive feel to the course. The effectiveness of this approach is then evaluated via an online survey that was administered to first-year undergraduate students. The results obtained from 250 first-year students showed that the students were able to improve their programs with the utilization of PC2, as it allowed them to obtain prompt feedback. The use of PC2 also gives them a competitive atmosphere, which motivates them to perform better. The survey results also indicate that the students used their time to prepare for lab sessions via tutorials and self-learning

Kerangka bagi persekitaran pembelajaran berpusatkan pelajar untuk latihan pengaturcaraan kendiri

Pengaturcaraan komputer merupakan satu bidang yang memerlukan kemahiran dalam mereka bentuk algoritma, memahami sintaks, menulis aturcara dan membetulkan ralat sehingga memperoleh aturcara yang dapat menyelesaikan sesuatu masalah. Kemahiran ini dapat dibina melalui latihan yang banyak, dalam pelbagai bentuk dan secara berterusan. Lazimnya penguasaan pelajar dalam pengaturcaraan dapat dilihat daripada bilangan latihan yang dapat diselesaikan dengan betul dan dalam tempoh masa yang ditetapkan. Hasil daripada pemerhatian, kebanyakan pelajar dapat menyelesaikan masalah yang diberi semasa sesi makmal. Namun, prestasi mereka dalam ujian makmal kurang memuaskan. Keadaan ini tidak menolak kemungkinan pelajar tidak melakukan latihan kendiri secukupnya sebagai persediaan ujian makmal. Dalam persekitaran pembelajaran berpusatkan pelajar, pengisian jam notional sangat penting untuk memastikan pelajar bersedia untuk mengikuti kelas seterusnya. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menghasilkan satu kerangka bagi persekitaran pembelajaran berpusatkan pelajar untuk kursus pengaturcaraan komputer. Persekitaran pembelajaran ini menerapkan teori konstruktivisma yang membantu pelajar membina pengetahuan dan kemahiran melalui pengalaman menyelesaikan pelbagai masalah aturcara. Kerangka pembelajaran ini juga diintegrasikan dengan model pembelajaran kompetitif dengan menyediakan ruang untuk pelajar bersaing sesama sendiri dalam menyelesaikan masalah pengaturcaraan