CAREER: Advancing End-User Programming with Expertise Sharing Tools

本研究的目的是调查如何提高最终用户程序员的生产力和学习，通过用户界面和算法捕获，共享和访问编程专业知识。重点关注创建图形用户界面和构建物理计算系统的最终用户程序员的需求。将进行实地调查和数据分析，以了解目前围绕在线寻求和提供建议的做法。在此框架的指导下，将开发工具来创建和共享高质量的示例和教程，查找和推荐相关示例，并将找到的代码集成到新项目中。这些方法的成功将通过实验室实验和部署仪器化软件进行评估。这项工作借鉴了计算机支持的合作工作，最终用户编程，创作工具的设计，基于项目的学习和计算机实现的脚手架设计的方法。将产生四种类型的结果：1）关于最终用户程序员寻求帮助的问题类型的知识; 2）分析当前系统如何帮助和阻碍专业知识的共享; 3）改进编程环境中专业知识共享的新技术;以及4）量化这些技术的好处的评估。程序员越来越多地依赖于Web资源，如问答网站、论坛和示例库，以帮助他们对软件进行原型设计、实现和调试。这种趋势在最终用户程序员中尤其普遍，他们编写代码，但没有受过计算机科学的专业培训。他们的数量远远超过美国的专业程序员。当前的开发工具在很大程度上忽略了在线编程建议的社会交换：程序编辑器和Web应用程序彼此隔离。缺乏描述和分享方案编制专门知识的具体应用限制了知识的产生和使用的有效性。这项工作将降低数字媒体编程的门槛。这项研究将提高在线参考资料的质量、范围和实用性。获得这些材料可以加速学习，提高生产力，提高程序员的自我效能，并使编程知识的生产和共享民主化。

The objective of this research is to investigate how to improve end-user programmer productivity and learning through user interfaces and algorithms for capturing, sharing, and accessing programming expertise. Focus is on the needs of end-user programmers who create graphical user interfaces and build physical computing systems. Fieldwork and data analyese will be conducted to understand current practices around seeking and providing advice online. Informed by this framework, tools will be developind for creating and sharing high-quality examples and tutorials, finding and recommending relevant examples, and integrating found code into new projects. Success of the methods will be evaluated through laboratory experiments and deployment of instrumented software. This work draws on methodology from computer-supported cooperative work, end-user programming, the design of authoring tools, project-based learning, and design of computer-realized scaffolding. Four types of results will be produced: 1) knowledge about the types of problems end-user programmers seek help on; 2) analysis how current systems help and hinder the sharing of expertise; 3) novel techniques to improve expertise sharing within programming environments; and 4) evaluations that quantify the benefits of such techniques. Programmers increasingly rely on Web resources such as question answering sites, forums, and example repositories to help them prototype, implement, and debug software. This trend is especially prevalent in end-user programmers, who write code but are not professionally trained in Computer Science. They vastly outnumber professional programmers in the United States. Current development tools are largely ignorant of the social exchange of programming advice online: program editors and Web applications are isolated from each other. This lack of specific applications for describing and sharing programming expertise limits the effectiveness of both production and use of knowledge. This work will lower the threshold for programming digital media. The research will increase the quality, scope, and utility of online reference materials. Access to these materials can accelerate learning, improve productivity, increase self-efficacy of programmers, and democratize the production and sharing of programming knowledge.