Learning to Program with Alice (w/ CD ROM)

Learning to Program with Alice, 3e is 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. ¿ Collection of Alice 3D “example worlds” on CD-ROM – Students can load an example world and enter their own code to make it work.

Table of Contents:
Foreword xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xxi About the Authors xxiii Part I: Introduction to Alice 1 1 Getting Started with Alice 3 1-1 Introduction to Alice 3 1-2 Alice Concepts 8 Tips & Techniques 1: Special Effects: Text and 2D Graphic Images 15 Summary 18 Exercises 19 2 Program Design and Implementation 22 2-1 Scenarios and Storyboards 22 2-2 A First Program 29 Tips & Techniques 2: Orientation and Movement Instructions 43 Summary 57 Exercises 59 3 Programming: Putting Together the Pieces 62 3-1 Built-in Functions and Expressions 63 3-2 Simple Control Structures 68 Tips & Techniques 3: Camera and Animation Controls 76 Summary 81 Exercises 83 Part II: Object-Oriented and Event-Driven Programming Concepts 87 4 Classes, Objects, Methods and Parameters 89 4-1 World-Level Methods 91 4-2 Parameters 100 4-3 Object-Level Methods and Inheritance 110 Tips & Techniques 4: Visible and Invisible Objects 121 Summary 127 Exercises and Projects 129 5 Interaction: Events and Event Handling 140 5-1 Interactive Programming 140 5-2 Parameters and Event Handling Methods 147 Tips & Techniques 5: Creating Your Own People Models 156 Summary 158 Exercises and Projects 159 Part III: Using Functions and Control Statements 171 6 Functions and If/Else 173 6-1 Functions 173 6-2 Execution Control with If/Else and Boolean Functions 180 Tips & Techniques 6: Random Numbers and Random Motion 196 Summary 199 Exercises and Projects 201 7 Repetition: Definite and Conditional Loops 213 7-1 Loops 213 7-2 While—a Conditional Loop 219 Tips & Techniques 7: Events and Repetition 225 Summary 228 Exercises and Projects 229 8 Repetition: Recursion 239 8-1 Introduction to Recursion 239 8-2 Another Flavor of Recursion 244 Tips & Techniques 8: Engineering Look and Feel 254 Summary 257 Exercises and Projects 258 Part IV: Advanced Topics 265 9 Lists and List Processing 267 9-1 Lists 267 9-2 List Search 273 Tips & Techniques 9: Groups 277 Summary 279 Exercises and Projects 280 10 Variables and Revisiting Inheritance 289 10-1 Variables 289 10-2 An Array Visualization Using an Index Variable 300 Tips & Techniques 10: Debugging with Watch and Text Output 308 Summary 312 Exercises and Projects 313 11 What’s Next? 322 11-1 Transition to Java 322 11-2 Alice 3 327 Tips & Techniques 11: Poses 328 Appendix A: Using Alice 331 Part 1: Running Virtual Worlds in Alice 331 Part 2: Using Popup Menus to Create an Initial Scene 345 Appendix B: Managing the Alice Interface 350 Index 363