IDE Support for test-driven development and automated grading in both Java and C++

Students need to learn testing skills, and using test-driven development on assignments is one way to help students learn. We use a flexible automated grading system called Web-CAT to assess student assignments, including the validity and completeness of their own test cases. By building on existing educational plug-ins for Eclipse, and adding our own plug-ins for electronic submission and for unit testing support in C++, we are able to use Eclipse as a portal to all the services our students will need, allowing them to accomplish all their tasks entirely within the IDE, from their project’s inception to its submission and evaluation. Further, we are able to carry students through the transition from Java programming to C++ programming within this same environment. Categories and Subject Descriptors K.3.2 [Computers and Education]: Computer and Information

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: ECLIPSE
• Authors: Anthony Allowatt, Stephen Edwards
• Keywords: ECLIPSE 2005, Software Engineering, Test-driven Development, Testing Skills, Unit Testing Support