Programming Languages

 

Hey there everyone!

On the first week of class I had the opportunity to develop a simple game animation using the Scratch program which was a super exciting experience. Since I am a beginner in programming, I spent a lot of time getting to know the program and understanding what each blocks, or task intended. Once I comprehended the general concept of the program, I began the process of creating a simple jumping game. While the Scratch program is easy to use, it was critical to input each block one and at a time and in the correct order because a simple mistake dramatically altered the project.

A significant difficulty I encountered when in Scratch was the need to switch between sprites when creating instructions. Sometimes I entered the instructions on the wrong sprite and failed to verify the task, which led to disaster.  There were various times I had to restart the project because it was easier to start again than to pinpoint where the mistake was. However, when addressing the mistakes I learned that it is crucial to check the task before, saving time and energy.

Another issue I encountered was trying to create a smooth transition between level 1 and level 2. In my current project, the transition from the first level to the second level is drastic. I attempted to pause the game, demonstrate the user is in level two with a “LEVEL 2” banner, and then resume the game, but I had significant difficulty so, I ended up only integrating two levels. I plan to continue the project to learn how to incorporate additional levels, extra characters, targets, and motions. Completing this exercise revealed that programming involves many trial and error situations that sometimes may become overwhelming for the developer. However, I discovered that taking one step at a time and checking the work after a new task saves tons of time. Take a look at the simple jumping game I created using Scratch by clicking on the link below. 

URL: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/542025788/

Completing the activities in my textbook was trickier than programming with Scratch because the textbook activities use machine language, while the Scratch program uses assembly language or “human understandable” machine language (Vahid & Lysecky, 2017). Assembly language makes it easier for beginners to develop complicated instructions. Therefore, I find assembly language easier to utilize than machine language and high-level programing language. However, Vahid and Lysecky (2017) emphasize that Python, a high-level programming language, is easier to learn and rapidly gaining popularity (Vahid & Lysecky, 2017). An important thing I learned when comparing programming languages is that some tasks involve choosing a specific program over another because each project has different factors. For example, if a person has a project that requires fast speed, then they might choose Java over Python because of its more efficient run time (Pedamkar, 2021). Therefore, choosing the correct program highly depends on what the users intended task is. 

If you would like to create your own program using Scratch visit www.scratch.com

References:

Pedamkar, P. (2021). Java vs Python. Retrieved from https://www.educba.com/java-vs-python/

Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2017). Computing technology for all. Retrieved from https://ashford.instructure.com/courses/85897/modules/items/4339048