My Experience with Scratch
Using Scratch for the first time
and a block programming language for the first time since around 2011 or so was
a bit of a challenge at first. I think the simplicity of the program made it a
bit more difficult for me personally as I am use to creating things from
scratch in my current work place through SQL and scripting languages.
I followed the built-in tutorial on getting started and I
was able to make more sense of how the program worked and was able to overcome
my initial struggles however I still need some more practice in order to feel
completely comfortable with it. Working through this exercise did however open
up my mind a little bit into how some of my favorite programs are made, games.
Seeing in simple form how being able to take a 2D sprite and give it input made
it make a lot more sense how those things are done with in a game on the back
end of it.
Differences in Programming Languages
Differences in Programming Languages
Machine language is directly interacting at the hardware
level with the CPU and is done at a binary level as the CPU can only understand
0 and 1 instructions. Assembly is just a interface between human language and
machine language that allows for easier input from humans to the computer by
converting the assembly language which is much easier text for humans to use
into the binary machine language the CPU can understand. A High-level
programming language goes a step further in creating an even more human text
friendly way of converting instructions via a compiler to assembly and then
machine language.
Scratch vs. Activities within Textbook
It might seem strange or backwards but I actually had an easier time understanding the exercises in the chapter 2 programming sections than my initial work with Scratch. I found the Assembly language exercise to be the easiest to use but I did really enjoy the binary one as well. If you were trying to work directly at a hardware level and get the most performance out of a piece of hardware I think the machine / assembly language would be the most effective as those directly interact with the CPU / hardware. However, if you are trying to create software to improve human tasks / efficiencies than a higher-level language will be most efficient. I feel that higher-level programming languages are definitely most popular as any program that is written to be used by a human is written in a high-level programming language. Games, smartphone apps, OS’s, Websites and 100’s of thousand others are all written in high-level programming languages as they are directly interfacing with human interaction. I do however thing that machine language / assembly is just as important because they are still required to make all programs run but are rarely being directly programmed for in the mainstream. Companies that sell hardware that directly interacts with other hardware / CPU and other programs however would still use this to great extent.
Scratch vs. Activities within Textbook
It might seem strange or backwards but I actually had an easier time understanding the exercises in the chapter 2 programming sections than my initial work with Scratch. I found the Assembly language exercise to be the easiest to use but I did really enjoy the binary one as well. If you were trying to work directly at a hardware level and get the most performance out of a piece of hardware I think the machine / assembly language would be the most effective as those directly interact with the CPU / hardware. However, if you are trying to create software to improve human tasks / efficiencies than a higher-level language will be most efficient. I feel that higher-level programming languages are definitely most popular as any program that is written to be used by a human is written in a high-level programming language. Games, smartphone apps, OS’s, Websites and 100’s of thousand others are all written in high-level programming languages as they are directly interfacing with human interaction. I do however thing that machine language / assembly is just as important because they are still required to make all programs run but are rarely being directly programmed for in the mainstream. Companies that sell hardware that directly interacts with other hardware / CPU and other programs however would still use this to great extent.
Scratch program link - https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/246147841/
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