Adventures in Coding

Learn to code the fun way with nine real projects for true beginners

Adventures in Coding is written specifically for young people who want to learn how to code, but don't know where to begin. No experience? No problem! This book starts from the very beginning to take you from newbie to app-builder in no time. You'll 'learn by doing' as you build projects designed to help you master fundamental programming skills--and you'll have a great time doing it. These skills form the foundation of any programmer's tool set, and you'll continue to use them as you graduate to other devices and more difficult projects. Each chapter includes a video to help clear up any confusion and make sure you really understand, so you can keep programming your way through every single project without hitting major roadblocks. If you're ready to start designing your own program, this book will help you get started today.

More and more kids are learning to code, and many schools offer basic programming classes as part of the regular curriculum. This book is structured like a class, starting with the basics and building skill upon skill, making it both a perfect accompaniment to formal instruction and an ideal guide for self-study.

• Learn the basic programming skills you'll use everywhere

• Build nine fun projects from super-basic to pretty challenging

• Build the skills you need to create bigger and better apps

• Watch video tutorials for extra help and explanations

How many times have you played with an app only to find yourself wishing it had this or that feature? If you learn how to code, you can be the creator of the next big app! But it all starts with that first small project. Adventures in Coding provides all the information you need, so let's get coding!

Auteur

Eva Holland is an accomplished author, trainer and co-founder of WatzThis?, a company aimed at teaching technical topics in a fun and approachable manner. In addition to being co-author of this book, Eva is the co-author JavaScript For Kids For Dummies and Coding with JavaScript For Dummies. She enjoys tennis, music, and exploring the caves of the unknown. Chris Minnick is a prolific published author, trainer, web developer and co-founder of WatzThis?. Chris loves sharing his knowledge with others and has trained thousands of adults and kids in computer programming. As an author, his published books include JavaScript For Kids For Dummies, Coding with JavaScript For Dummies, Beginning HTML5 and CSS3 For Dummies, and Webkit For Dummies. Chris is an avid reader, writer, swimmer, and musician.

Résumé
Learn to code the fun way with nine real projects for true beginners Adventures in Coding is written specifically for young people who want to learn how to code, but don't know where to begin. No experience? No problem! This book starts from the very beginning to take you from newbie to app-builder in no time. You'll 'learn by doing' as you build projects designed to help you master fundamental programming skillsand you'll have a great time doing it. These skills form the foundation of any programmer's tool set, and you'll continue to use them as you graduate to other devices and more difficult projects. Each chapter includes a video to help clear up any confusion and make sure you really understand, so you can keep programming your way through every single project without hitting major roadblocks. If you're ready to start designing your own program, this book will help you get started today.

More and more kids are learning to code, and many schools offer basic programming classes as part of the regular curriculum. This book is structured like a class, starting with the basics and building skill upon skill, making it both a perfect accompaniment to formal instruction and an ideal guide for self-study.

• Learn the basic programming skills you'll use everywhere
• Build nine fun projects from super-basic to pretty challenging
• Build the skills you need to create bigger and better apps
• Watch video tutorials for extra help and explanations
  How many times have you played with an app only to find yourself wishing it had this or that feature? If you learn how to code, you can be the creator of the next big app! But it all starts with that first small project. Adventures in Coding provides all the information you need, so let's get coding!

Contenu

Introduction 1

What Is Scratch? 1

Who Should Read This Book? 1

What You Will Learn 1

How This Book Is Structured 2

What You Need to Use This Book 2

Conventions 2

Companion Website 3

Contact Us 3

Adventure 1

Scratching the Surface 5

Coding Is Everywhere 5

Speaking the Language of Machines 6

Knowing Your Coding Lingo 7

Writing Your First Scratch Program 8

Joining Scratch 8

Meeting Scratch the Cat 11

Moving Scratch Around 12

Connecting Blocks 13

Looping Movements 14

Starting at the Green Flag 16

Bouncing Off the Walls 17

Creating a Sprite 18

Handling Collisions on the Dance Floor 19

Slowing It Down 22

Learning the Scratch Environment 23

Exploring the Scratch Project Editor 24

The Toolbar 24

The Stage 31

The Sprite Pane 32

The Sprite Info Pane 33

The Scripts Area 33

The Block Palette 34

The Costume Pane 35

The Sound Pane 36

Working with Colors and Shapes in Scratch 37

Further Adventures in Coding 37

Adventure 2

Where in the World Is Scratch? 39

Setting the Stage 39

Interacting with the Stage 41

Customizing the Backdrop 42

Using a Picture Backdrop 46

Taking a Picture of the Stage 46

Understanding Coordinates on the Stage 47

Taking Center Stage 48

Moving Left, Right, Up, and Down 49

Knowing Your Directions 50

Working with Degrees of Rotation 51

Spinning Sprites 51

Moving a Sprite 54

Stepping 55

Gliding 55

Jumping 55

Creating Random Scratch Art 56

Randomizing Movements 56

Drawing Random Lines 58

Further Adventures in Coding 59

Adventure 3

Using Control Blocks 61

Understanding Code Nesting 61

Branching Programs in Scratch 64

The if ( ) then Block 64

The if ( ) then, else Block 65

Boolean Blocks 67

Making Comments in Scratch 69

Standalone Comments 69

Block Comments 71

Looping in Scratch 72

Looping Forever 72

Stopping Loops with the stop ( ) Block 72

Creating a Counting Loop 72

Looping Until a Condition Is Met 73

Waiting 74

Building the Fly Catcher Game 74

Setting the Stage 75

Placing the Frog 76

Adding the HippoFly 77

Scripting the HippoFly 78

Making the Tongue 78

Further Adventures in Coding 81

Adventure 4

Using Sensing Blocks 83

Learning the Sensing Blocks 83

Getting and Using Text Input 84

Detecting Key Presses 89

Watching for Mouse Moves 91

Using Timing 94

Sensing Touching and Distance 97

Building the Apple Patrol Game 102

Further Adventures in Coding 105

Adventure 5

Using Event Blocks 107

Understanding the Role of Events 107

Working with Key Press Events 109

Using Backdrop Change Events 114

Implementing Sensing and Timing Events 118

Detecting Video Motion 118

Measuring Loudness 118

Waiting for the Right Time 118

Getting Your Message Across 118

Putting on the Big Event 123

Setting the Stages 124

Programming the Ringleader 126

Programming the Ballerina Show 128 Pr...