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Sunday, September 24, 2023

Post #1-Programming Languages

In this assignment, I embarked on an exploration of computational thinking through the utilization of Scratch, an intuitive drag-and-drop block programming language. By immersing myself in this creative process, I had the opportunity to craft a concise program using Scratch's versatile features, including motion, visual aesthetics, audio integration, and control mechanisms. The goal was to assemble a program comprising a minimum of 30 blocks, showcasing my aptitude for orchestrating diverse elements seamlessly. Through this endeavor, I gained hands-on experience in coding but also cultivated a foundational understanding of logical thinking in the realm of computation.

            Building a program using Scratch was slightly difficult for me. This is my first time creating something like this and I wasn’t sure where to begin. I used the tutorial videos Scratch provided to help get me started. Once I understood what was expected of me, things started to go a little smoother. However, programming in Scratch was very user-friendly and easier to understand compared to machine language, assembly language, and high-level languages, such as Python.

            To me, Scratch is all about experimentation and creativity. You can explore various blocks, create animations, add sound effects, and even incorporate conditional statements for more advanced behaviors. As I become more familiar with Scratch, I can challenge myself to create more complex and interactive projects.

            Machine Language, Assemble Language, High-Level Language, and Scratch provide extremely distinct functions and meet very diverse needs and skill levels. While machine language allows complete control over hardware, it requires deep technical expertise and lacks the user-friendliness of languages like Scratch. It is meant for novices and places an emphasis on creativity and interactive projects.

            Assembly Language uses distinct skill sets and objectives. It allows tighter control over hardware but requires more technical expertise and is better suited for system-level programming or performance-critical applications.

Python is an object-oriented, dynamically semantic, high-level, interpreted programming language. Rapid Application Development and its use as a scripting or glue language to bring existing components together find its high-level built-in data structures, coupled with dynamic type and dynamic binding, to be particularly appealing. Python.org. (n.d.). I found Scratch (block-based) to be the most user-friendly programming language.

Due to the constrained resources of embedded systems, where computers are built into hardware like microcontrollers, machine language may be required to enhance performance and memory utilization. Programmers may manually optimize algorithms for speed or memory utilization in performance-critical code portions by using assembly language and their understanding of the hardware's instruction set. Writer et al. (2023)

The programming language that I think is most popular is Python. Python is known for its readability and versatility. Since Python can be used in so many ways, it appeals to many different programmers.

            In conclusion, Scratch, a user-friendly block programming language, has given me a unique opportunity to delve into the creative process of coding. I was able to demonstrate my talent for blending many parts in a program using Scratch's wide range of features, from motion and aesthetics to audio integration and control techniques. Through this training, I was able to improve my practical coding skills as well as my understanding of logical reasoning in the context of computation.

Link to Scratch Project: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/886877226

References:

What is python? executive summary. Python.org. (n.d.). https://www.python.org/doc/essays/blurb/

(Writer et al., 2023) Machine language vs. assembly language: Spiceworks. Spiceworks. https://www.spiceworks.com/tech/tech-general/articles/machine-vs-assembly-language/#:~:text=Takeaway,human%2Dreadable%20machine%20language%20representation


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