Writing code with a simple programming language

This week, you’re going to do some real programming.

You’ll work on some simple programming exercises to get a feel for what programming computers feels like. Remember, we aren’t assuming that you have any previous programming knowledge.

The tool you’re going to program with is called Blockly. Blockly is a visual programming system made by Google that runs inside your web browser (such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge). You shouldn’t need to install anything to use it.

We recommend working on a computer, although Blockly does work on tablets as well.

Why are we using Blockly?

Blockly is designed as an introduction to programming for new programmers. Almost all Blockly code is made by snapping blocks together using your mouse. The blocks of code snap together like puzzle pieces and you can’t snap pieces together that won’t fit.

The advantage this has over starting with a text-based system is that you can’t make errors by typing incorrect code. Instead, you can focus on the thinking behind the code. You may still make mistakes in your solutions, but they will be mistakes with the logic of your code not typos or missing symbols.

Don’t worry that this does not seem very realistic. The exercises may seem toy-like, but the thinking needed to solve them, and the logic you will implement, are exactly the same kinds of thinking ‘real-world’ programming requires, as you’ll discover later.

What you’re going to do

You’re going to work on a few sets of exercises. First, you’ll work on some simple problems steering a character around a maze to get a feel for Blockly. Then, you’ll work on some harder maze problems, looking at basic programming ideas. You will do this in one of the games available on Blockly called Blockly Maze as shown in the images below.

Finally, you’ll work on using Blockly to draw images using the Blockly Turtle. After each phase, you’ll see solutions and discuss how they relate to real-world coding. You will do this in one of the games available on Blockly called Blockly Turtle.

Using Blockly

You can access the Blockly site online. Please note that the link will open in the same browser window. To return to the course, select the back arrow in the top left hand corner of your screen.

Select the Puzzle module (top left) first to get an understanding of how Blockly works. You should be able to drag blocks together, and select ‘Check Answers’ to see if you got the answer right.

If that all works, you’re ready to work on the exercises in the next step.

If you’re having issues with the Blockly site functioning correctly, please download the free Mozilla Firefox web browser.

If you want to complete the exercises offline or struggle to access Blockly for other reasons, you can use the more accessible PDF versions in the Downloads section. You can write your answers by hand. You may want to open the link in a new browser tab or window so that you can easily return to this page.