Computer Programming Advice.

[marknotgeorge]

I got the Mad Scientist a Pi kit for the Christmas before last. I also took the girls to a Raspberry Pi jam (think show and tell with a bit of doing), which they enjoyed and want to go again. But I can't get her interested enough to actually do anything! She prefers playing games and watching daft 'Azerbaijanis try Belorussian snacks' videos on YouTube!

 

[Yellow Fang]

There is relatively easy stuff you can do on a Raspberry Pi. Python is one of the easier programming languages. Better still, you can just download code other people have done and save yourself the bother. The cost of bits and pieces can add up though. Arduinos are good too. BBC Bits are relatively easy to code, but a bit limited.

 

[marknotgeorge]

That's something I don't get about Python. How can a language that uses characters you can't see syntactically be described as easy?

Then again, I don't want to turn this into a programming language bash-fest.

 

[chriswoody]

Whilst I'm a big Pi fan, it can be a little daunting at first. However there is a large community of folk out there playing with these things and you can easily waste hours searching for solutions to problems or inspiration. It's also worth flicking through some of the back issues of the raspberry Pi magazine, lots of good info and inspiration. The've also got some good guides on getting started with Python and Pi's in general. There all available for free download, the link is here:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/issues/

Another great way into code is Scratch. The program itself can be used online or there is an offline editor than can be downloaded for free. It's really good for learning the principles of coding and is easy to get instant results from. There are lots of examples online of games and other programs being created.

https://scratch.mit.edu/

There's also good resources for scratch here:

https://scratch.mit.edu/go