Lack of Keyboard Support Cripples Block-Based Programming

Neil Christopher Charles Brown; Michael Kölling; Amjad AlAbdullah Alabdullah Altadmri

Lack of Keyboard Support Cripples Block-Based Programming

Neil Christopher Charles Brown, Michael Kölling, Amjad AlAbdullah Alabdullah Altadmri

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference paper › peer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Block-based programming is very popular with beginners, but it has failed to gain traction among intermediate and expert programmers. The mouse-centric interfaces typically found in block-based programming environments make edit interactions (especially in large programs) tedious and awkward. We propose that adding keyboard support is a key step to extending the applicability of block-based programming ideas and would allow their use by intermediate and expert programmers, extending some of their benefits to new user groups. We describe an implementation of this idea, `frame-based programming', which leads to a number of benefits in error avoidance and edit efficiency.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Blocks and Beyond 2015
Publisher	IEEE
Number of pages	3
Publication status	Published - 22 Oct 2015

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https://kar.kent.ac.uk/50383/1/position.pdf

Cite this

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title = "Lack of Keyboard Support Cripples Block-Based Programming",

abstract = "Block-based programming is very popular with beginners, but it has failed to gain traction among intermediate and expert programmers. The mouse-centric interfaces typically found in block-based programming environments make edit interactions (especially in large programs) tedious and awkward. We propose that adding keyboard support is a key step to extending the applicability of block-based programming ideas and would allow their use by intermediate and expert programmers, extending some of their benefits to new user groups. We describe an implementation of this idea, `frame-based programming', which leads to a number of benefits in error avoidance and edit efficiency.",

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Y1 - 2015/10/22

N2 - Block-based programming is very popular with beginners, but it has failed to gain traction among intermediate and expert programmers. The mouse-centric interfaces typically found in block-based programming environments make edit interactions (especially in large programs) tedious and awkward. We propose that adding keyboard support is a key step to extending the applicability of block-based programming ideas and would allow their use by intermediate and expert programmers, extending some of their benefits to new user groups. We describe an implementation of this idea, `frame-based programming', which leads to a number of benefits in error avoidance and edit efficiency.

AB - Block-based programming is very popular with beginners, but it has failed to gain traction among intermediate and expert programmers. The mouse-centric interfaces typically found in block-based programming environments make edit interactions (especially in large programs) tedious and awkward. We propose that adding keyboard support is a key step to extending the applicability of block-based programming ideas and would allow their use by intermediate and expert programmers, extending some of their benefits to new user groups. We describe an implementation of this idea, `frame-based programming', which leads to a number of benefits in error avoidance and edit efficiency.

M3 - Conference paper

BT - Blocks and Beyond 2015

PB - IEEE

ER -

Lack of Keyboard Support Cripples Block-Based Programming

Abstract

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