A Study of the Programming Languages Used in Information Systems and in Computer Science Curricula

This paper researches the computer languages taught in the first, second and third programming courses in Computer Information Systems (CIS), Management Information Systems (MIS or IS) curricula as well as in Computer Science (CS) and Information Technology (IT) curricula. Instructors teaching the first course in programming within a four year curriculum have wrestled with which language is best for enabling student success as well as preparing students for a viable career. The authors believe that Visual Basic.Net is the best language for teaching the first programming course. The authors believe that Graphical User Interface (GUI) controls within a Windows-based environment also should be emphasized in the first course. While the authors support JAVA and C# as advanced programming experiences within the CIS/MIS curriculum they do not believe that either of these two languages should be taught in the first programming experience. A survey was performed to determine: (1) Is there is a difference in the language used for the first programming course based on curriculum type (CIS, MIS/IS, CS and IT)? (2) Is there a difference in the language used for the second programming course based on curriculum type (CIS, MIS/IS, CS or IT)? (3) Is there is a difference in the language used for the third programming course based on curriculum type (CIS, MIS/IS, CS or IT)? The authors also want to know which interface (Windows/forms, Web or Console) is being used with the various programming languages being taught.