Stanford CS department updates introductory courses: Java is Gone
April 21, 2017 at 7:09 am 11 comments
Stanford has decided to move away from Java in their intro courses. Surprisingly, they have decided to move to JavaScript. Philip Guo showed that most top CS departments are moving to Python. The Stanford Daily article linked below doesn’t address any other languages considered.
The SIGCSE-Members list recently polled all of their members to talk about what they’re currently teaching. The final spreadsheet of results is here. Python appears 60 times, C++ 54 times, Java 84 times, and JavaScript 28 times. I was surprised to see how common C++ is, and if Java is dying (or “showing its age,” as Eric Roberts is quoted below), it’s going out as the reigning champ.
When Java came out in 1995, the computer science faculty was excited to transition to the new language. Roberts wrote the textbooks, worked with other faculty members to restructure the course and assignments and introduced Java at Stanford in 2002. “Java had stabilized,” Roberts said. “It was clear that many universities were going in that direction. It’s 2017 now, and Java is showing its age.” According to Roberts, Java was intended early on as “the language of the Internet”. But now, more than a decade after the transition to Java, Javascript has taken its place as a web language.
Source: CS department updates introductory courses | Stanford Daily
Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: computing education, Java, programming languages, Python.
1.![]()
Leland | April 21, 2017 at 8:00 am
I think the headline is a bit misleading. Java is not gone from Stanford’s huge intro course CS106A and C and C++ are not gone from CS106B or CS 107. Looks like they are experimenting with a pilot version CS106J that uses Javascript.
2.![]()
Neil | April 21, 2017 at 12:20 pm
I think a lot of ECE programs still do intro courses in C/C++, since that is the most common language for embedded systems etc. Another interesting analysis would be imperative/functional/(whatever JS is)
3.![]()
Nick Parlante | April 21, 2017 at 2:09 pm
As Leland says, the javascript version is an experiment by Eric Roberts. I’m also building an experimental version rolling out 2017-18. My version emphasizes Codingbat-style autograding materials (which will be freely available). I’m interested in an approach that works well for Python or Java or any language.
-Nick Parlante
4. Stanford CS department updates introductory courses: Java is Gone – Full-Stack Feed | April 21, 2017 at 4:01 pm
[…] Stanford has decided to move away from Java in their intro courses. Surprisingly, they have decided to move to JavaScript. Philip Guo showed that most top CS departments are moving to Python. The… Read more […]
5.![]()
rtoal | April 22, 2017 at 1:24 am
Welcome to the JavaScript first approach! We’ve been doing things this way at LMU computer science since 2009 and have been very happy with this approach. Java, Python, C, and assembly all enter the curriculum by the end of the sophomore year, but JavaScript has always felt like the right place to start.
6.![]()
acbart | April 22, 2017 at 8:56 am
If you don’t mind, I’d be very curious to hear what you find to be the biggest issues and advantages to using JS in your first course.
7.![]()
dendisuhubdy | April 22, 2017 at 7:01 am
Reblogged this on The Secret Guild of Silicon Valley.
8. Stanford CS department updates introductory courses: Java is Gone | The WordPress C(h)ronicle | April 22, 2017 at 10:00 am
[…] visit Computing Education Blog […]
9.![]()
Simon | April 22, 2017 at 1:02 pm
From all language available they choose one of the worst. It will produce nothing but script kiddies with no sense of clean code or design.
10.![]()
Alfred Thompson | April 22, 2017 at 4:22 pm
Honestly I still think the instructor is more important than the language.
11. Stanford is moving from using Java to JavaScript for their intro CS course – Full-Stack Feed | April 22, 2017 at 5:59 pm
[…] Stanford has decided to move away from Java in their intro courses. Surprisingly, they have decided to move to JavaScript. Philip Guo showed that most top CS departments are moving to Python. The… Read more […]