ProgII Educational Initiative

This repository supports students in Programming with Java (II) with practice material (mock exams, tracing exercises) and a workflow that mirrors real software development.

The educational initiative is built around three principles:

1. Understand Java (concepts → behavior → reasoning)
2. Use Agentic AI (GitHub Copilot) responsibly and effectively
3. Handle Git/GitHub procedures like a professional

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1) Understand Java

The aim is not only to know syntax, but to predict execution precisely—especially in exam-style questions.

Core topics emphasized:

• Object-Oriented Programming (classes, objects, encapsulation)
• Inheritance + polymorphism (overriding, dynamic dispatch)
• Static vs instance state (shared vs per-object)
• Exception handling (try/catch and control flow)
• String manipulation and immutability (substring, replace, concatenation)
• Flow control and variable tracing (for/while loops, continue, counters)

Recommended study method:

• Trace variables step-by-step without running the code first.
• For each change, explain which method executed and which field was accessed.
• Re-check common pitfalls: off-by-one, integer parsing, shadowed fields, and static state.

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2) Use Agentic AI (GitHub Copilot)

Copilot works best when you treat it as an assistant that can propose, refine, and verify—while you remain responsible for correctness.

Suggested “agentic” workflow:

• Provide full context (task, constraints, grading expectations).
• Ask for a plan before code changes.
• Request deterministic outcomes (final variable values, runtime behavior).
• Require verification (compile/run checks, Java version compatibility).
• Review results like an examiner: look for hidden assumptions (polymorphism, static state, exception paths).

Example prompts:

• “Create a Java tracing exercise with inheritance and overriding; ensure final values are deterministic.”
• “Explain which method is invoked at runtime and why (dynamic dispatch).”
• “Generate plausible distractors based on common student mistakes.”

Academic integrity note:

• Use AI to learn faster, not to replace understanding. In an exam, you must be able to justify each step.

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3) Handle Git/GitHub procedures

This initiative also trains habits used in real teams: branching, committing, and reviewing changes.

Minimal workflow:

1. Clone the repository
2. Create a feature branch per task/exercise
3. Make small, focused commits
4. Push the branch
5. Open a Pull Request (PR) and review
6. Merge when correct

Command reference:

• git clone <url>
• git status
• git checkout -b feature/mock-exam-1
• git add .
• git commit -m "Add mock exam #1"
• git push -u origin feature/mock-exam-1

Good habits:

• Commit early/often, but keep commits meaningful.
• Use git diff and git log to understand changes.
• Don’t commit generated build artifacts unless required.

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Repository contents

• Exam.java: Exam-style Java program for tracing (polymorphism, static/instance state, exceptions, strings, loops)
• Exam_Paper.md: Formatted mock exam sheet based on Exam.java

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How to compile and run

From the repository root:

javac Exam.java
java Exam

If your installed java runtime is older than your javac, compile with a target release compatible with your runtime (example: Java 8):

javac --release 8 Exam.java
java Exam