The newly revised fifth edition of our Building Java Programs textbook is designed for use in a two-course introduction to computer science. We have class-tested it with thou- sands of undergraduates, most of whom were not computer science majors, in our CS1- CS2 sequence at the University of Washington. These courses are experiencing record enrollments, and other schools that have adopted our textbook report that students are succeeding with our approach.
Introductory computer science courses are often seen as “killer” courses with high fail- ure rates. But as Douglas Adams says in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “Don’t panic.” Students can master this material if they can learn it gradually. Our textbook uses a layered approach to introduce new syntax and concepts over multiple chapters.
Our textbook uses an “objects later” approach where programming fundamentals and procedural decomposition are taught before diving into object-oriented programming. We have championed this approach, which we sometimes call “back to basics,” and have seen through years of experience that a broad range of scientists, engineers, and others can learn how to program in a procedural manner. Once we have built a solid foundation of procedural techniques, we turn to object-oriented programming. By the end of the course, students will have learned about both styles of programming.