9354597 Sitaraman Demand for trained software professionals continues to be on the rise. Introductory undergraduate courses in computer science do not provide an appropriate context for motivating the importance of good design, precise and abstract specification, and efficient and correct implementations in software construction. These and other key component and software engineering principles are therefore introduced only much later in the curriculum as "add on" ideas, rather than as central themes in problem solving. The relatively late exposure leaves computer science students with little time to master key concepts. Non-computer science majors are left in total darkness with respect to software engineering issues and principles. Using software reuse as a motivating context (but not as the dominant theme), we propose to introduce software engineering principles in introductory computer science courses while retaining the problem-solving techniques traditionally taught in these courses. Specification-based reuse readily motivates the need for traditional principles such as abstraction and new principles such as software design. Having seen and used software built the "right" way early, the students master the ideas by applying them in projects in the rest of the curriculum. A major objective of the project is to evaluate the long-term influences of this proposal in multiple programming paradigms in multiple institutions. ***y
