Interactive Support of Planning in a Functional, Visual Programming Language

Based on a theoretical framework of problem solving and knowledge acquisition, criteria for intelligent knowledge communication systems and help design are described. The ABSYNT Problem Solving Monitor for the acquisition of basic functional programming concepts in a visual language is designed according to these criteria. It incorporates hypotheses testing of solution proposals, and a learner model is designed to supply user-adapted help. New is a third feature, which is presented in this paper: Planning programs with goal nodes. The learner can develop solution plans by postponing their implementation, and it is possible to test hypotheses with partial plans and with "mixed trees", existing of operator and goal nodes. The planning component of ABSYNT rests on a sound transformation approach (Bauer et al., 1987) that enables the derivation of functional programs from specifications. We hope to make derivational programming accessible even to beginners in very early stages of expertise.

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