While there are people commenting on how the techniques sound a lot like a software engineering class, as opposed to a computer science class, I think this appr

While there are people commenting on how the techniques sound a lot like a software engineering class, as opposed to a computer science class, I think this approach overall would be fantastic for computer science. Writing tests and documentation are great discipline for assignments. Once these software engineering practices are in place, they can serve as a framework for future assignments. The HTTP server as a starting point is an excellent idea. This allows for students to see the results of their efforts in an interactive, visual, tangible way. Successfully implementing a search algorithm for the first time is great, but how much more rewarding would it be to see an unsorted list on a web page, a "sort" button", and watching the list sort before your eyes? Students become trained in one of the most underrated skills in software: communication. They also gain practice in building prototypes to help with job hunting or demonstrating to managers. Does this reframe the curriculum in the context of industry rather than academia? Yes, but I feel it would be incorrect to orient CS around the minority of students who will pursue academic careers anyway.