[HN Gopher] FD 100
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       FD 100
        
       Author : todsacerdoti
       Score  : 40 points
       Date   : 2021-09-08 19:32 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (susam.in)
 (TXT) w3m dump (susam.in)
        
       | spoonjim wrote:
       | Turtle Logo on the front page -- perfect time to ask my question:
       | 
       |  _What 's a good starter Logo for a precocious 5-year-old?_
       | 
       | The things that are important to me are high quality graphics
       | (both of the turtle and the line), an animated turtle, and
       | keyboard-only control (he can't use a mouse very well).
       | 
       | ACSLogo for Mac OS ( http://www.alancsmith.co.uk/logo/ ) nails
       | the graphics really well, but the trouble is that you can't
       | define procedures from the command line -- you have to go into a
       | special window to add a procedure. It also doesn't have the "up-
       | arrow for last command."
       | 
       | Any suggestions?
        
       | dvirsky wrote:
       | Same here. I started with LOGO at school and it was a great
       | teaching language and gave me a good basis (e.g. we did a ton of
       | recursive stuff) and a passion for creating things with code.
        
       | baliex wrote:
       | "FD 100" was my introduction to programming too! This short post
       | just brought it all back!
       | 
       | I've remembered for years that there was some for loop syntax
       | that I'd used as a kid. I knew it wasn't "for" so seeing "REPEAT
       | 360 [FD 1 RT 1]" was quite a revelation for me just now! (Thanks
       | Susam if you're reading this!) That's exactly what I was writing
       | back then. I think my first instinct at the time was "REPEAT 4
       | [FD 100 RT 90]" and from there went on to draw pentagons,
       | hexagons, and then at some point had a eureka moment and tried
       | "REPEAT 360".. mind blown!
       | 
       | I was using an Amstrad PCW 8512 [1] and would love to hear from
       | anyone else who had a similar experience.
       | 
       | [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_PCW#PCW_8256_and_8512
        
       | tristor wrote:
       | Logo wasn't the first language I started with (that would be
       | BASIC), but it is one I have many fond memories of from
       | childhood. I used Logo later on to program microcontrollers used
       | with Lego to build simple robots and machines. One of my proudest
       | moments was building a functional prototype of a washing machine
       | with selectable wash cycles. It allowed me to begin understanding
       | many of the things which we find in the world that rely on small
       | embedded electronics to function.
       | 
       | I wish there were programs like this for children these days in
       | school. I know Scratch derived from Lego Logo and there's still
       | things like Lego Mindstorm, but I don't think there are many
       | common programs at least in the US to teach children programming
       | and prototyping using these simple mechanisms.
        
       | sedatk wrote:
       | I remember reading about Seymour Papert's Logo back in the 80's
       | and getting blown away by how elegant and luxurious the language
       | felt. But, the need to start Logo environment first in order to
       | run a program kept me away from it so I kept working with BASIC
       | and Assembly. That kind of friction matters a lot.
        
       | adamrezich wrote:
       | for those like myself unfamiliar with LOGO and confused by the
       | term "turtle graphics":
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_graphics
        
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       (page generated 2021-09-08 23:00 UTC)