Understanding the syntax barrier for novices
Paul C. Denny, Andrew Luxton-Reilly, Ewan D. Tempero, Jacob Hendrickx · 2011
Mastering syntax is one of the earliest challenges facing the novice programmer. Problem solving and algorithms are the focus of many first year programming classes, leaving students to learn syntax on their own while they practice writing code. In this paper we investigate the frequency with which students encounter syntax errors during a drill and practice activity. We find that students struggle with syntax to a greater extent than we anticipated, even when writing short fragments of code.