Transforming Source Code Examples into Programming Tutorials

Abstract—One popular approach to teaching computer programming is to use example programs to demonstrate programming concepts. We propose to increase the pedagogical value of example program source code by transforming them into self-explaining tutorials within a learning integrated development environment. In this paper, we present a stepwise instructed implementation of annotated example code. Source code with instructor comments is parsed and processed to create an intelligent learner environment. Students are guided step by step to develop the program solution. Explanations are auto-generated for each line of code; these come from an author’s comments as well as extended explanations dynamically generated for certain coding constructs. Explanations are presented to the learner in multiple modes using the full range of multimedia displays. Source code examples can be used as self-contained tutorials. Keywords-e-learning; educational technologies; programming pedagogy; source code examples; integrated development environment I