Animating the .NET execution model

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Animating the .NET execution model

• Jim Bown
• University of Abertay Dundee

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Context
Year 1
Year 4
Year 3
Year 2
BSc Computing, Computing (Games
Development) Entry levels 1st year CCD at
A-Level (One articulation route requires 1
A-Level)
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Background
Year 1
Year 4
Year 3
Year 2
Java (1.5) for core OOP concepts Taught using
visualisation aids
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Robots and cows and Connect4, oh my!
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Supportive technologies
Program formulation
Syntactic
Context-sensitive
SNOOPIE
Semantic
Generic warnings
Problem formulation
Schematic
Construct relationships
Strategic
Required constructs
Feedback
Tool operation
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Supportive technologies
QMe
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Year 2, Java SWING stories
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Year 3, .NET Framework

• Visual teaching tools and other supportive aids
  used throughout first exposure to Java
• But not for .NET teaching!
• No (good) reason for this
• HEA award used to address this and improve
  existing portfolio of work
• 2 month secondment for PGRA

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The module

• 1. Identify the outline architecture components
  of an object-oriented execution environment.
• 2. Describe the elements of a type system in the
  context of object- oriented programming.
• 3. Explain the operation of an object-oriented
  program in the context of memory management.
• 4. Appraise the use of a class library in
  facilitating the implementation of complex
  applications.

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The project

• Develop 3 visualisations and additional tutorial
  materials
• Integrated into the main module
• Highlighting interoperability and dynamic code
  generation
• Visualisations for
• Simple class
• Memory management
• Case study

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Visualisation 1

• Visualisation of a basic class
• Students explore C implementation
• Used as an introduction to C class use (.dll)
• Interface in VB.NET
• Short commentary on interoperability in tutorial
• We used straight-line class
• Teach them about equations too!
• Set of questions relating to class properties
• Students explore and extend class

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Visualisation 2

• Animation of memory management
• The stack and heap
• An interactive (carefully constrained) editor
• Focused on object creation method calls
• Linked in with existing (static) presentation and
  tutorial exercises

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Memory management animation
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Dynamic code generation

• Dynamic generation of compiled code at run-time
  based on string input
• Need instance of a compiler and a little bit of
  packaging
• Self-generating programs
• No animation for this
• Tutorial exercises developed within project

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Case study Research ? Teaching

• Actually the start of the whole thing
• Me advising (sort of) an RA on development of a
  file viewer
• X-rays and soil

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CT Scanner for soil samples
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Sample slicer viewer animation

• Files generated are gt10Gb
• Series of slices of images (tiff files)
• RA was developing a tiff file viewer
• Allowing loading of a stack
• And stepping through slices
• I thought it might be cool to let our students
  see it hence HEA application

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Spin-off
Carnegie Trust Summer Student
HEA Academy
School-funded Summer Student
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Summary

• 2 month project made significant impact on
  teaching content
• Animations of particular value
• In line with student expectations
• Some revisions to core exercises to link better
  to animations
• Funded 1 2-month RA and led to funding for 2
  students for 6 weeks

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Main deliverable
Acknowledgements Allan Milne (PI) Michael Idowu
(RA) Natalie Coull Matthew Leonard Eilidh
MacAdam Davina Button Linton Porteous
Please take one!
Also on HEA website