X-compiler: yet another integrated novice programming environment

Abstract

The paper presents a simple programming language, called X, and an educational programming environment, called X-Compiler, designed to introduce students to programming. X-Compiler can be used to edit, compile, debug and run programs written in X, a subset of Pascal. X-Compiler could be didactically interesting because of the following features: (a) users can watch the intermediate steps of the execution of a program: source code compilation, correspondence of source and pseudo-assembly code during execution, register content, and intermediate values of user and temporary system variables; also, they can edit the produced pseudo-assembly code and re-execute it, (b) there are many detailed and explanatory messages that can guide novice programmers when debugging their programs and, in general, help them write better programs.