This document provides discussion prompts for 5 weekly discussions in a PRG 215 programming course. The prompts relate to collaborative debugging, compound assignment operators, using boolean variables to control loops, clarifying the difference between classes and objects, and using predefined exception classes in Java. Students are instructed to make an initial post responding to the prompt and then reply to two other classmates' posts for each discussion.

1. PRG 215 All Discussions
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PRG 215 Wk 1 Discussion - Collaborative Debugging
Post a total of 3 substantive responses over 2 separate days for full participation. This
includes your initial post and 2 replies to other students.
Due Thursday
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
In industry, most programmers work on teams. One of the most important benefits of
working on a programming team is the ability to get a fresh set of eyes to help you debug
your programs.
For this week's discussion, post:
 A description of any problem(s) you ran into when you tried to code and test this
week's program, accompanied by a screenshot of your buggy Java™ code
 The steps you took to fix those problems (if you were able to fix them)
 Suggestions for helping a classmate fix his/her buggy Java™ code
Due Monday
Reply to at least two of your classmates. Be constructive and professional in your
responses.
PRG 215 Wk 2 Discussion - Compound Assignment Operators

2. Post a total of 3 substantive responses over 2 separate days for full participation. This
includes your initial post and 2 replies to other students.
Due Thursday
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
A compound assignment operator like += or -= is an operator that does two things at the
same time: first, it peforms a calculation; and second, it assigns the calculated value to a
variable or constant.
Review the following two examples:
 totalPoints +=95; same as totalPoints = totalPoints + 95
 finalGrade -= 30;same as finalGrade = finalGrade - 30
Discuss the possible benefits, if any, of using a compound operator vs. the alternative.
Can you think of any drawbacks to using compound operators?
Due Monday
Reply to at least two of your classmates. Be constructive and professional in your
responses
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PRG 215 Wk 3 Discussion - Controlling Loop Behavior with Booleans
Post a total of 3 substantive responses over 2 separate days for full participation. This
includes your initial post and 2 replies to other students.
Due Thursday
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
When you declare a variable of type boolean, that variable can hold only one of two
values: true (1) or false (0). While progarmmers can use variables of type boolean in any
way that makes sense for the programs they are writing, one typical use of boolean
variables is associated with controlling loop behavior.
Research the use of boolean variables in controlling loop behavior.
Discuss what you have learned by posting your answers to the following questions:

3.  Why are booleanvariables used more often than other variable types to control
loop behavior?
 How does the namea programmer gives a boolean variable affect its effectiveness
in controllingloop behavior?
Due Monday
Reply to at least two of your classmates. Be constructive and professional in your
responses.
For More Classes Please Visit
http://www.uopstudy.com/
PRG 215 Wk 4 Discussion - Clarifying Classes and Objects
Post a total of 3 substantive responses over 2 separate days for full participation. This
includes your initial post and 2 replies to other students.
Due Thursday
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
Ironically, the defining concept supposed to make object-oriented programming
languages easier to code than procedural languages, the concept of defining a class that
can be used to create multiple, similar objects, is often one of the toughest for procedural
programmers to grasp.
Many analogies have been used to explain the class > object concept, including:
 cookiecutter > cookies: one cookiecutter can make multiple cookies, each of
which may vary slightly (frosting,sprinkles, etc.) just as programmers can vary each object
they instantiate froma class.
 common noun> proper noun: man is a commonnoun; like a class, it defines a set
of assumptions (two arms, two legs, onehead, etc.) but doesn't refer to any specific
individual. Instances of thatcommon noun, like objects, do refer to specific individuals:
SteveSmith, Ralph Jones, and Dan White. It's the same with other common nouns,
likeriver (Boise River, Allegheny River, Nile River), city (Seattle, Boston,Phoenix), and so
on.
 blueprint> finished building: a singleset of blueprints (class) defines specifications
for a house, but every actualhouse (object) built from that blueprint will vary slightly.
Discuss this concept by posting your answers to the following questions:

4.  Do you feel youunderstand the concept of creating multiple instances (objects)
from a singleclass? If not, explain your confusion. If so, help clarify the concept to
yourteammates.
 How do yousuppose viewing a system as a collection of objects that interact with
eachother might affect the way programmers analyze and design Java™ programs,
asopposed to viewing a system as a series of sequential instructions, which ishow
procedural programmers analyzed and designed programmers beforeobject-oriented
languages like Java came along?
Due Monday
Reply to at least two of your classmates. Be constructive and professional in your
responses.
For More Classes Please Visit
http://www.uopstudy.com/
PRG 215 Wk 5 Discussion - Predefined Exception Classes
Post a total of 3 substantive responses over 2 separate days for full participation. This
includes your initial post and 2 replies to other students.
Due Thursday
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
Depending on the exception programmers want to handle, they may need to write their
own exception handling code or they may be able to use predefined exception classes.
Discuss what, if anything, programmers must do to make predefined exception classes
available to their programs.
Due Monday
Reply to at least two of your classmates. Be constructive and professional in your
responses.