The evolution of CS1 textbooks

Computer science has undergone significant changes since the 1970s, which are reflected in computer science education. One consistency has been the need for an introduction to programming (generically called CS1) at the undergraduate level, but this course has seen a number of revisions. Each new language or paradigm has added content: more data options, modules, abstract data types, objects, graphical user interfaces, applets, and more complex input and output (including exceptions). All of this is on top of the foundational topics of simple data types, selection statements, repetition statements, record structures, and arrays. This paper analyzes textbooks used in CS1 through the years for a number of different imperative languages. We look at the sizes of the textbooks, the amount of coverage of various topics, and the point at which those topics are started. We also look at the topics recommended for the CS1 course in various curriculum models.