Error Log Analysis for Improving Educational Materials in C Programming Language Courses

Abstract

Many universities choose the C programming language (C) as the first programming language to teach to students. As novice programmers, students frequently make simple mistakes such as syntax and typographical errors. Students often find it difficult to locate these errors, as students are not yet thoroughly familiar with C’s syntax. Usually educational materials are very useful tools for students to locate errors and find solutions. This study aims to facilitate teaching and learning of C. We propose a system that undergraduate novice programmers may use to easily locate syntax errors in C and get recommendations from educational materials. We analyze error logs of programming and reading logs of educational materials, with the learning by doing mode (learning-practicing-reflection) to discuss key findings and their implications for programming education.