Insert Title Here : Investigating the communication of placeholders and placeholder-characters in code examples in the programming trade.
Abstract: To improve the communication between programming instructors and learners; placeholders, placeholder-characters and placeholder characteristics are investigated via two focus groups. One focus group with instructors, the other with learners. The combined and analyzed results show that placeholder-characters can confuse more than they help, more often for programming beginners. The semantics of a placeholder is the most crucial part of understanding its purpose and strengthens its characteristics. A placeholder using a different letter case from the surrounding code is easier to differentiate and find in a block of code.
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