Producing Software Using Tools in a Workstation Environment Dartmouth Technical Report PCS-TR86-134 Mark Sherman Robert L. Scot Drysdale Date: 1986 URL (PDF): (888KB) Abstract: We discuss how we taught students to build and use translation, interpretive, editing and monitoring tools in an undergraduate software engineering course. Students used the tools on low-cost workstations (Macintoshes) to build large, group projects. The students' projects used all available features of workstation environments, including graphics, windows, fonts, mice, networks, and sound generators. We found that 1) the use of tools increased student productivity, 2) a shift in a data structure and algorithm topics is needed to cover material relevant for workstation environments, 3) new topics in system design are required for a workstation environment, 4) traditional material can be easily illustrated with a workstation environment and 5) students enjoyed being able to manipulate the advanced features of workstations in their work, which in turn increased their motivation for and concentration on the course material.