Text 7397, 85 rader
Skriven 2005-10-02 09:22:50 av Rich Gauszka (1:379/45)
Ärende: Kids Programming Language from MS ?
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From: "Rich Gauszka" <gauszka@hotmail.com>

Microsoft offers freeware -kid's programming language-

http://msdn.microsoft.com/coding4fun/coolapplications/KPL/default.aspx

 bet if you took a poll, a lot of coders were gamers before they were
coders-and that they got started by coding games. The cool thing is, after you
learn to code and start making stuff work in the real world-stuff that isn't
games-it's still fun! People reading this at Coding4Fun obviously think so,
right?
So we all learned how to code and we know coding is fun, what do we do with
that? Well, I think we want to give other people a chance to try coding, see
what it's like, and figure out whether it's as fun for them as it is for us. If
it is, they'll be coders too, and glad they are.

So how do we help them try coding? And when? We think kids can learn coding as
early as they can learn reading and typing and math, and that learning coding
helps with and complements other learning-so the sooner the better. Kids are
all about fun, too: Harry Potter, Nintendo, Legos... So if you want kids to
learn to code, make it easy. Make it fun. Help them make it a game.

Those are some of the things we were thinking about as we came up with KPL-our
Kid's Programming Language. Coding4Fun makes a lot of sense to us, and is about
a lot of these same thoughts, so we're very glad to have the chance to write an
article introducing KPL here.

Kid's Programming Language
KPL is composed of:

  a.. a readable and modular programming language


  b.. a kid-usable but functionally complete integrated development
environment


  c.. a growing collection of fun sample programs and games


  d.. an experience designed to make it fun for kids learning to code
KPL is available as a freeware download from http://www.ms-inc.net/kpl.aspx.
The default KPL download is English-language, but a Polish-language download is
available now, and Spanish, Swedish, Hebrew, Norwegian, German and Romanian
translations are under way.

The Programming Language

KPL's language is modeled on the simplicity and readability of BASIC, but it is
a structured rather than linear programming language. KPL lets kids see
eye-catching and immediate results from their programs, while teaching them
fundamental concepts like variables, data types, loops, decision structures,
methods and functions. KPL's data types include integers, decimals, strings,
booleans, arrays, and user-defined structures.

Here is a representative KPL method, which draws a parabola on the screen:

Method DrawParabola()
    Var X As Decimal = -199.0
    Var Y As Decimal = -200

    Color( Blue )

    Var LastX As Decimal
    Var LastY As Decimal

    While X < 200

        LastX = X
        LastY = Y

        Y = (X * X / 200) * -1
        X = X + 3

        DrawLine( LastX, LastY, X, Y )
        Trace( "X = " + X + ", Y = " + Y )

        // Want to watch it draw slowly?  Uncomment the next line:
        // Delay( 1 )

    End While
End Method

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