SOFTWARE SUPPORT FOR THE TRACING METHOD

In this paper, the first version of a program that supports the tracing method is described.The tracing method aids the student in demonstrating his or her understanding of the functioning of a computer program by providing a written record of the effect of each of the program's statements.This program, RandomLinearizer, randomizes the elements of the trace, and the student then selects the elements in the correct order to complete the trace.Formatting of the trace is done by RandomLinearizer.In this paper, the elements of the tracing method are recounted, and some examples of the functioning of RandomLinearizer are provided.