Programming Languages
Programming language is necessary for each, and every computer program made, with that said, there are several different main programming languages. According to Coursera, authors of an article called 5 Types of Programming Languages, on their website, there are 5 types of programming languages including Procedural, Functional, Object-oriented, Scripting, and lastly Logic (Mar 29, 2024). The purpose of this paper is to explore a well-known program called Scratch which according to author David Lee of the Computhink website explains in his article What you need to know about Scratch 3.0, Scratch is a high-level, block-based visual programming language called ActionScript (Dec 28, 2018). I will first examine the program Scratch, identify any difficulties, explain how I overcame each, I will then describe any insights I gained as a beginner learning to use the program. I will also include some prior beginner experience and compare the two, after which I intend to point out the language that is useful for its particular importance.
Scratch: Experience & Difficulties
My experience was a bit different than I initially expected. Upon delving into the program, which is children friendly, I thought, this will be quite easy since I am a 43-year-old adult. I could not have been more mistaken, I could not even start the actual duty of creating my own cartoon simulation, until I first went through the video tutorials that are meant to teach one how to create a “masterpiece” of their own. Below in the appendix, you will find a link to my silly first attempt at an animation in Scratch. After going through several tutorials, I then played around with the Sprite buttons, which give you several options for characters. I wanted more than one character, therefore I had to create each separately (although I love the option the program gives allowing for redesign of a sprite), which then allows you to give your sprite a better look according to its purpose. When I began to play around with the blocks, in the beginning I did not know where my blocks went when I changed between characters because each Sprite gets its own blocks, and therefore has its own unique voice, movement, placement, and control on screen. If you wish to see what each will do when your project is finalized, you must switch between them all, then one by one press on each to see their movements. There is an option that all move at once when the green flag is pressed, allowing the sprites to move together, you must try both to see what you prefer best. In conclusion, if one were to take more than just a few hours to play around with the program, it is amazing, and allows one to understand exactly how the high-level, block-based visual programming language works. In my experience using the Scratch program, the best way to overcome all difficulties is to take the time to watch any tutorials that meet your need. I also found that especially when not understanding what the block does, throwing it on your blocks that you have already, does not hurt, as the ability to remove the block is as quick as a right click of the mouse. I gained an extreme amount of insight on how programming language works due to this exercise. One main thing that I acknowledged was how each small thing that you make your character do, such as moving 1 step even, has its own block or language attached to it.
Comparison to Previous Textbook Activities
The activities that I did previously were from the textbook called, Computing technology for all, by authors Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2019). These activities focused on a few different languages and were far more difficult to comprehend than that of Scratch. First, I did not have the tutorials that Scratch offered and these languages were made up of machine languages that were almost foreign to me until I grasped it, but not before getting the answers wrong several times. The Scratch program is far easier to decipher and far more user friendly than the textbook activities. Even getting into the high-level language offered some insight by the textbook, but not what the Scratch program offers. Fortran, which according to the textbook, was the first mainstream high-level language (2019), was the easiest for me to learn. Some differences between the languages are that the textbook languages have mathematical skills that must be figured out before one can use it, and Scratch, using a block language, offers more of an immediate explanation, plus trial-and-error friendly options that make it much easier for human brains to comprehend. The block language continues as the easiest language, and most beginner friendly to use.
Each type of Programming Language & Effectiveness
Both Programming Languages, block based visual, as well as Fortran are each high-level language. The block-based language would be best used in things such as creating a video game, whereas the Fortran language is useful when converting something like Fahrenheit to Celsius or a letter grade to a grade point average. The most popular programming Language is the object-oriented because it treats a program as a group of objects and can be reused within a program or in other programs (Coursera staff, 2024).
Conclusion
In conclusion, after comparing both the Scratch programming language, and the languages from the textbook, the block-based language continues to be easiest to understand. Although each had their own difficulties and uses, I overcame both, however, I still find Scratch the easiest to understand as well as most user friendly, especially as a beginner who is just learning.
References
Coursera staff. (Mar 29, 2024). 5 Types of Programming Languages. website
www.coursera.org/articles/types-programming-language
Lee, D. (Dec 28, 2018). What you need to know about Scratch 3.0. Computhink website
Scratch Website link:
Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2019). Computing technology for all. ZyBooks.
Link to Tonya Hanley’s Scratch creation:
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