HiC

[hik]

For the page on the popular fruit-flavored drink, see Hi-C (drink)

HiC is a C++ integrated development environment designed for use in introductory computer science (CS1) courses. HiC itself supports a subset of C++. Pointers, operator overloading, bitwise operations, and other features of C++, which are not usually used in introductory computer science courses, are not included in the subset of C++ that is HiC. The result is that error messages can be more specific, providing more help to novice programmers. It should be noted that HiC does not create stand-alone executable programs. In this regard HiC is not technically a compiler. Instead HiC is an interpreter which interprets the subset of C++ accepted by HiC.

Author

HiC was developed by Robert W. Hasker, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Professor Hasker created HiC after a colleague mentioned that professional development tools should not be used in introductory programming courses . Several Joint International Master graduate students, Andreas Altmannsberger, Matt Booher, Christian Döring, Tanja Medschinski, and Volker Schmitt contributed to HiC, providing HiC with LEGO RCX support .

Name

Though the application bears the name "HiC", the name could also be taken to mean "High C", or Hasker's Instructional C++. Alternatively, instead of being , it could be pronounced /ˈhɪk/, which is a reference to its development in southwestern Wisconsin, a rural area with plenty of cows and cornfields (see hick).

Terms of Use

HiC is freely available for use by institutions of up to 15,000 students for on-campus (traditional) courses. Instructors are advised to contact the program author to get on a mailing list for updates. Larger institutions and instructors and students of online/distance courses must contact the author for permission to use HiC. The author suggests that professionals use a professional compiler.

Platform Support

HiC has been developed for use on Wintel platforms. This should include Microsoft Windows releases including and since Microsoft Windows 95. Though developed for use on x86 + MS Windows machines, one can run HiC on GNU/Linux through Wine (software).

Program Execution

HiC was designed to be executed by merely launching a single executable: hic.exe. As such, there are no DLL or other files one must install. The syntax of HiC is available in the help of the application.