All syntax errors are not equal

  • Authors:

  • Paul Denny;Andrew Luxton-Reilly;Ewan Tempero

  • Affiliations:

  • The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand;The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand;The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 17th ACM annual conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education
  • Year:
  • 2012

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Identifying and correcting syntax errors is a challenge all novice programmers confront. As educators, the more we understand about the nature of these errors and how students respond to them, the more effective our teaching can be. It is well known that just a few types of errors are far more frequently encountered by students learning to program than most. In this paper, we examine how long students spend resolving the most common syntax errors, and discover that certain types of errors are not solved any more quickly by the higher ability students. Moreover, we note that these errors consume a large amount of student time, suggesting that targeted teaching interventions may yield a significant payoff in terms of increasing student productivity.