Why ProgramLive?

Programming is dynamic. When a program runs, things happen over the course of time. Therefore, explanations of programming should be dynamic, too, rather than just the static content of printed textbooks. ProgramLive uses animation to more clearly and effectively illustrate key points.

Furthermore, many textbooks simply present programming constructs and do not explain how to think about them, e.g. how to effectively use them. ProgramLive goes into more detail than most textbooks about how to think actually think about the programming process. A prime example is loop invariants or loop storylines, which TKY thinks of as the secret weapon for writing loops.

Unfortunately for CS100M, which starts off using Matlab, ProgramLive principally uses Java. Although both Matlab and Java share similar programming principles, there are different constructs and also the syntaxes are different. Thus, in the first half of the course, any readings in ProgramLive should be read at a high-level, skipping over details of syntax and "objects" and "object-orientation".

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