Teaching Java programming based on the pool of open source case studies ∗

Teaching software engineering through open source case studies is not a new approach. In spite of this fact only recently are offered courses based on this approach. This involves reuse, understanding, modification and extension of existing software. These skills are highly demanded by the industry. The paper deals with the pedagogical and technical background of a specific implementation for the collection, assessment and archiving of the students’s projects. The implemented system (3-layer Java based architecture) collects and automatically applies OO metrics in order to measure the characteristic features of the assignments. Results are used for the detection of the plagiarisms and selection of outstanding works. The paper statistically presents the suitability of this approach in a real setting. We conclude that the availability of the online course, licenced from the Sun Mirosystems, Inc., blended with the access to the portal of open source case studies, is an effective way of learning Java.