Learning to Program with Alice, 3rd edition

Appropriate for all one-semester pre-CS1 and computer literacy courses, and for integration into the first weeks of many introductory CS1 courses.

Alice was designed to make programming concepts easier to teach and learn. In the Third Edition of Learning to Program with Alice, Alice's creators offer a complete full-color introduction to the interactive Alice programming environment. The authors make extensive use of program visualization to establish an easy, intuitive relationship between program constructs and the 3D graphics animation action in Alice. Students discover how Alice blends traditional problem-solving techniques with Hollywood-style storyboarding. Fundamental object-oriented programming concepts and language syntax are taught independently. Programming concepts can be taught from either an objects-first or an objects-early approach, with an optional early introduction to events. The book's Java-like syntax allows students to view their program code, simplifying their transitions to Java, C++, C#, or other object-oriented languages. This new edition includes over 60% revised exercises and a "sneak peek" at Alice 3.0.

Easy, welcoming, approach to programming – Teaches programming using Alice, an innovative programming environment designed to simplify key concepts and welcome non-programmers. With 3D graphics and a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, Alice has been proven to help computer science departments improve student motivation and reduce attrition, especially amongst underrepresented groups. Using Alice and this book, far more students can successfully take the first step towards a career in software development.

Visual movie-style storyboarding simplifies program design – Demystifies complicated program design concepts by making program design completely visual, and providing instant visual feedback on the program changes that students make.

Fun, accessible, visual environment – Provides a 3D graphics-based, drag-and-drop programming environment that’s easy for novices to use, and rewards students immediately through visual animations they can instantly see and understand.

Separation of object-oriented concepts and program syntax – Enables instructors to teach objects and syntax separately, to choose among objects-first and objects-early approaches, and to teach events early if they wish.

Broad coverage of object-oriented, event-driven, and advanced programming concepts – Introduces students to a broad cross-section of the concepts and techniques contemporary programmers need to master, including classes, objects, methods, parameters, events, functions, control statements, list processing, inheritance, and more.

Focus on elegance, algorithmic thinking, and abstraction – Helps students quickly understand how successful programmers need to think.

Exercises and projects in every chapter – Includes comprehensive hands-on opportunities for students to test their knowledge and gain confidence in their abilities.

Support for easy 3D animation uploads via YouTube — Easy animation uploading is a powerful motivator to students, who can now show off their work on the Web. Coverage of camera controls, both during scene set-up and during run time of the animation.

Collection of Alice 3D “example worlds” on CD-ROM — Students can load an example world and enter their own code to make it work.

Extensive Instructor Materials Available - Access syllabi/calendars, lectures, labs, assignments, sample worlds, sample exams, sample projects, online support forums, and more.

1. Corrects errata from the second edition.
2. Replaces burning building example in Chapter 5 with lighting effects example. 3. Replaces fly-collision example in Chapter 6 with guessing-game example.
4. Adds new exercises and projects in Chapters 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10, particularly with more games. 5. Adds new Tips & Techniques on using groups in an Object Tree (see Chapter 9).
6. Updates Alice 2.2 with example worlds on DVD. Prevents name collisions of objects in a group. 7. Provides updates to Appendix B regarding exporting files and videos.
8. Adds Section 11.2, introducing Alice 3 beta.