Programming Languages

 

Experience Building a Scratch Program: 

This was my first time using Scratch. To begin learning the process I watched the introduction video, this showed how Scratch was a drag and drop block system for controls rather than manual code. The blocks were easy to use and to keep the layout organized, which for a beginner was very easy to follow along with. For my project in Scratch, I created a music concert theme. 

Challenges Encountered:

Character Movement: For my project I had two separate characters, one playing the drums and the other dancing. Making the movements seem smooth was difficult, I ended up using a rotation block to make small adjustments that went back and forth to simulate dancing and playing a beat on the drums. 

Timing: Making a drum beat match a smooth rhythm took some playing around. Plug and play was the only way to figure it out and listening to all the sounds that were given in the program. Then matching that beat to the movement of the drums being played was just adjusting the time until it looked and sounded right. 

Project Requirement: One of the requirements we were given was 30+ blocks being used, at first I thought this was not possible. However once I started plugging in the sounds and movements I knew this was not going to be an issue. 

Insights Gained:

After completing this project I have figured out that a block program for coding is easier to understand the concept for beginners of coding. Having more time to focus on how separate blocks work together such as sound, timing, and movement is easier when they are pre-programed. The only downside to this is when you get more comfortable with coding you notice how limited you are without being able to manually adjust the code. 

Compiled vs. Interpreted Languages: 

Compiled Languages (e.g., C++): Uses a compiler to convert code into machine language. 

    Pros: Very fast for running the program. 

    Cons: Development is slower since the code can only be changed when the entire code is finished. 

Interpreted Languages (e.g., Python): Code is ran line by line through an interpreter. 

    Pros: Easy to make fixes since each line can be tested in small sections. 

    Cons: Slower when running because each line is having to be read compared to a compiled language. 

Between these languages Interpreted language is very popular, they tend to be user friendly and have a large support group in online communities. 

Scratch Project URL

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1202280356/