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IDEs
I
use BlueJ in my courses.
I like it for pedagogical reasons
(see and interact with your objects/classes, run JUnit tests,
integrate with JAMtester).
JCreator is also nice - I've used it in class and I use it personally.
Recently I've started to
use Eclipse - and like that a lot as well - I'll use it in class
as well.
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BlueJ
Free
IDE! Great for viewing object relationships and performing unit/regression
testing.
Detailed
instructions and useful configuration tips.
Reasons
to use BlueJ in an academic environment
- The object
diagrams you are referring to while teaching are drawn for you
in BlueJ. As you teach, you are showing them the hierarchies
over and over again - and you're interacting with the objects
(which is what oop is all about).
- Getting
your students setup and running at home is much easier than
the other environments.
- It works
on a pc and a mac.
- The environment
is simple; there aren't a lot of buttons, options, etc. to get
in the way of the beginning student. You can keep them focused
on what they should be focused on.
- Allows
you to perform unit testing - this is a huge benefit not to
be overlooked. Please check out Jamtester
to read about unit testing and another tool I created to help
you auto-grade labs and help your students write better code
- this is a must read.
- Allows
you to test a class or method of a class without having to write
a "main program". You can instantiate one instance
of the object and then call a method (sending it any parameters)
and it'll give you the result.
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