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Prioritize straightforward, understandable code over unclear, shortcut-filled code to avoid confusion.

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  • If students cannot parse the code properly, they will not be able to understand what it is doing.
  • This is especially important for beginning students who miss fundamental concepts when trying to write elegant code without understanding the thinking behind it.

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Tags

  • Development Methods
  • Programming Concepts
External Source

“The ugliest beautiful line of code” (blog post) by Neil Brown

Other Tips By
Other Tips By Neil Brown

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Encourage students to write instructions that a 5-year old could follow to give them a technique for problem solving and planning their programs.
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Use the model of Towers of Hanoi in order to help students understand recursion. To demonstrate Towers of Hanoi, use three baby ring-stacking toys and the programming language Alice.
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