VINCE—an on‐line tutorial tool for teaching introductory programming

We describe a tutorial tool which allows the execution of a C program to be graphically displayed. VINCE (Visual Instruction for Novices in a C Environment) is written in Java, allowing it to be used on the web. The student can enter their own C code, or select from a menu of pre‐written tutorials, each illustrating a particular aspect of programming. The tool provides a simulated map of the computer's memory, showing where pointers and variables are stored. The map is dynamically updated as the program is executed. Explanatory notes for each step are provided. The program's function stack may be viewed. At present, the tool can only deal with syntactically correct C code. The package may be used at