$29.3 OTHER COURSES 941 Terminology The organization of higher education differs widely among countries.To avoid any confusion we must first decide on a reasonably universal terminology to denote the various levels of study.Here is some attempt at common ground: High school(US),lycee,Gymnasium,called secondary education below. First few years of university or equivalent:this is called "undergraduate studies"in the US and other Anglo-Saxon countries(Gakubu in Japan).In France and countries influenced by its system it corresponds to either the combination of classes preparatoires with the first two years of engineering schools,or to the first and second cycles of universities.In the German system it is the Grundstudium.The term “undergraduate'”will be retained below. Finally for the later years,leading to advanced degrees,we can use the US term "graduate".(The rough equivalents are "postgraduate"in the UK;third cycle,DEA, DESS,options of engineering schools in France;Hauptstudium in Germany; Daigakuin in Japan.) Secondary and undergraduate studies At the secondary or undergraduate level the object-oriented method can play a central role, as noted,in an introductory programming course.It can also help for many other courses. We may distinguish here between courses that can be entirely taught in an object-oriented way,and those which will benefit from some partial use of object-oriented ideas. Here are some of the standard courses that can be taught in a fully O-O way: Data structures and algorithms.Here the techniques of Design by Contract are fundamental:characterizing routines by assertions,specifying data structures with class invariants,associating loop variants and invariants with algorithms.In addition,an innovative and powerful way to organize such a course is to design it around an existing library of software components from an existing object-oriented environment.Then instead of starting from scratch students can learn by imitation and improvement.(More on this topic below.) Software engineering.The object-oriented method provides an excellent framework to introduce students to the challenges of industrial,multi-person software development,and to evaluate the benefits and limitations of project management techniques,software metrics,software economics,development environments and the other techniques which the software engineering literature discusses (in complement to object orientation)as answers to this challenge. Analysis and design.Clearly this can be taught in a fully O-O way;again Design by Contract is central.Courses should emphasize the seamless transition to implementation and maintenance. Introduction to graphics;introduction to simulation;etc. Courses that may benefit from heavier or lighter object doses include:operating systems (where the method helps understand the notion of process,the message passing paradigm,and the importance of information hiding,clearly defined interfaces and limited communication channels in the design of proper system architectures);introduction to§29.3 OTHER COURSES 941 Terminology The organization of higher education differs widely among countries. To avoid any confusion we must first decide on a reasonably universal terminology to denote the various levels of study. Here is some attempt at common ground: • High school (US), lycée, Gymnasium, called secondary education below. • First few years of university or equivalent: this is called “undergraduate studies” in the US and other Anglo-Saxon countries (Gakubu in Japan). In France and countries influenced by its system it corresponds to either the combination of classes préparatoires with the first two years of engineering schools, or to the first and second cycles of universities. In the German system it is the Grundstudium. The term “undergraduate” will be retained below. • Finally for the later years, leading to advanced degrees, we can use the US term “graduate”. (The rough equivalents are “postgraduate” in the UK; third cycle, DEA, DESS, options of engineering schools in France; Hauptstudium in Germany; Daigakuin in Japan.) Secondary and undergraduate studies At the secondary or undergraduate level the object-oriented method can play a central role, as noted, in an introductory programming course. It can also help for many other courses. We may distinguish here between courses that can be entirely taught in an object-oriented way, and those which will benefit from some partial use of object-oriented ideas. Here are some of the standard courses that can be taught in a fully O-O way: • Data structures and algorithms. Here the techniques of Design by Contract are fundamental: characterizing routines by assertions, specifying data structures with class invariants, associating loop variants and invariants with algorithms. In addition, an innovative and powerful way to organize such a course is to design it around an existing library of software components from an existing object-oriented environment. Then instead of starting from scratch students can learn by imitation and improvement. (More on this topic below.) • Software engineering. The object-oriented method provides an excellent framework to introduce students to the challenges of industrial, multi-person software development, and to evaluate the benefits and limitations of project management techniques, software metrics, software economics, development environments and the other techniques which the software engineering literature discusses (in complement to object orientation) as answers to this challenge. • Analysis and design. Clearly this can be taught in a fully O-O way; again Design by Contract is central. Courses should emphasize the seamless transition to implementation and maintenance. • Introduction to graphics; introduction to simulation; etc. Courses that may benefit from heavier or lighter object doses include: operating systems (where the method helps understand the notion of process, the message passing paradigm, and the importance of information hiding, clearly defined interfaces and limited communication channels in the design of proper system architectures); introduction to