OOPP: Tame the Design of Simple Object-Oriented Applications with Graphical Blocks

Abstract

Many and varied experiences are being reported, about the first introduction to programming for young students and neophytes. However, tools and methodologies are needed also for a more comprehensive learning process, which requires to design the architecture of any small but functioning application. We propose a new environment, based on the use of graphical blocks, for designing some object-oriented applications. It merges the positive features of block-programming with the object-oriented paradigm in a graphical educational environment. It is developed as a tool for supporting the objects-early approach. The whole methodology is targeted at high school students, university freshmen and unemployed people who are motivated to learn to code professionally. In these cases, where we have firstly experimented this approach, the concepts of object-oriented programming (OOP) cannot be relegated to a secondary role, but they have to be introduced early and presented in their most intuitive form.