Robocode: a fun way to learn to program

Abstract

CS 1 instructors have the difficult task of trying to maintain interest in programming while their students are learning enough to write interesting programs. One way to do so is to provide students with a working program and have them modify parts of it as they learn enough to do so. Robocode [1] is a game that supports virtual robot battles. The behavior of each robot is specified by a Java object that can embody a simple sequence of commands or a complicated subprogram. This tutorial introduces these robots' capabilities with exercises intended to reflect the learning curve of a typical student in a CS 1 course.