DSAdvisor: Facilitating Deeper Inquiry in the Data Structures Course

Abstract

Data Structures is a core component of the under-graduate Computer Science curriculum. Traditional offerings of this course expose students to several data structures, where the rationale for each structure is justified in the context of a problem that is simplified due to semester time-constraints. As a result, students rarely develop the skills necessary to analyze data structure usage in the context of complex programs. This concern could be addressed by adopting a problem-based learning (PBL) approach, focusing on fewer data structures and more realistic programs. An instructor can now ask a non-trivial question such as: "What would happen if we replace this data structure with that one?" Answering this question usually requires tedious and error-prone changes to the program. In this paper, we develop an open-source tool called DSAdvisor which allows instructors to explore alternative data structures for arbitrarily complex code in an interactive manner. As the complexity of examples increases, such an exploration is likely to generate unexpected answers, thereby triggering discussions and deeper inquiry.