January 2026
Beginner to intermediate
352 pages
8h 35m
English
Content preview from Degrees of Change
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Chapter 13Generative AI Solves Introductory Computer Science Tasks. Now What?
—Leo Porter (University of California San Diego) and Daniel Zingaro (University of Toronto)
Are Computer Science (CS) students using generative AI (GenAI)—tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini—to write their computer programs? Ask any CS professor that question, and they will tell you that the answer is “yes.” Can GenAI effectively write these programs for students? That's another “yes,” especially in introductory CS (CS1) courses.
We begin by presenting a case as to why introductory CS courses need to change in light of GenAI. We delve into what such courses will need to look like going forward. This includes outlining the programming skills that will be foundational for new students to master when working with GenAI.
We have designed a new CS1 course from the ground up, built around the fact that students are using GenAI and that they need to develop the skills to use it effectively. We describe this course and offer some initial research results. There is much more research that needs to be done; we therefore outline some open questions about possible changes to follow-on courses and potential long-term impacts of using GenAI.
Introductory CS Courses Need to Change
Software engineers in industry typically seek better solutions to existing problems or seek solutions to new problems. They don't want or need to solve problems that have already been solved. Their projects are typically: ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.