Class Programming Project Ideas

It is often interesting what one finds by reviewing referral links (the information that shows how people get to a blog or web site). One of the sites I found last week was Vince Huston’s “Teaching Programming” page. Besides having a number of useful links (including one to my blog – thanks!) is a list of useful programming project ideas. Now some of the projects he lists are fairly well known (Towers of Hanoi for example) but some are less so. But there is added value on this site.

First off, on the main page, he lists opportunities for each project – topics where the project fits into the curriculum in three areas:

• Introductory opportunities
• Data structure opportunities
• Algorithm opportunities

Also on the main page is a link to a write up for each project. Some of them are very detailed but all of them include screen images of possible solutions (sometimes both as console projects and windowed/GUI projects) and discussion/thinking points about possible solutions. He doesn’t have completed solutions available (that I saw – he might have if you contact him directly) but there is sample code in several of the write ups. He works mainly in C++ and Java but these projects should all work in Visual Basic .NET or C# just as easily. (And sure, lots of other languages. :-) )

If you are looking for some projects to end the year or to add into next years plans these projects may be a place to start.