Experiences with PASCAL in an introductory course

Abstract

Beginning September, 1975, the Computer Science Department at the University of Western Ontario switched from FORTRAN to PASCAL as the primary language in the first year introductory course. The motivation for such a change was to introduce into the first year course concepts and issues which were becoming central to Computer Science. In particular, the instructors involved in the course wished to a) emphasize algorithm design, effect of choice of representation on design and the creation of well-structured programs, b) expose students to the use of a variety of control structures and data structures, c) introduce, at least informally, the notions of complexity and correctness. It was felt that not only would such a course provide a good introduction to Computer Science for all students taking the course, but that those continuing with Computer Science as a chosen field would be well-prepared for subsequent courses. Since PASCAL could satisfy these requirements and a good implementation (on a CDC Cyber 6600) of the language was already available, it was the logical choice.