Xiqin Lu, Nobuo Funabiki, Khaing Hsu Wai, Soe Thandar Aung, Mustika Mentari, Wen-Chun Kao
Java is a multi-purpose programming language revolving around the concepts of objects and classes. JUnit is a unit testing framework for Java developers to write test codes and execute testing for highly reliable and bug-free codes. Previously, to assist self-studies by novice students, we have developed the Java programming learning assistant system (JPLAS), and implemented the personal answer platform on Node.js. JPLAS offers several types of exercise problems at different learning levels. In JPLAS, Phrase Fill-in-blank Problem (PFP) requests to fill in the blanks in a given source code with one or multiple elements, and Code Writing Problem (CWP) requests to answer a source code that will pass a given test code. Any answer is automatically marked on the platform by string matching with the correct one for PFP and by unit testing for CWP. In this paper, we present an implementation of PFP for test code reading studies in JPLAS. It is expected that students can easily start solving CWP after PFP. As preliminary evaluations, we generated five PFP instances from five source codes with corresponding test codes, and assigned them to 15 undergraduate students in State Polytechnic of Malang, Indonesia. The results confirmed that the proposal is proper for novice students to study test code reading by JPLAS. © 2023 ACM.
Okayama University, Okayama, Japan; State Polytechnic of Malang, Malang, Indonesia; National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan