Interplay of Desktop and Mobile Apps with Web Services in an Introductory Programming Course

This paper describes a case study of a second-semester introductory programming course for information systems (IS) students that combined desktop and mobile application development and consumption of existing web services. Our aim was to provide students with a holistic view of how different types of applications can be developed and combined to solve real-world problems, as the students learned the basics of programming. Students progressively built a desktop Java application with a graphical user interface for a local public transit system. It combined the use of basic algorithms, existing web services for geo-coding and mapping to illustrate a recommended route on the system. Students then ported this application to the Android platform re-using most of the code they had already developed. Along with fulfilling the traditional objectives of an introductory course, this course also demonstrated the possible interplay of stand-alone components and web services in desktop and mobile applications and kept the students motivated and engaged throughout the semester.