Jon Schwartz
ABSTRACT
In this paper, we introduce Kid's Programming Language, or KPL. KPL is an integrated development environment (IDE) and programming language which are similar to but greatly simplified from current mainstream IDEs and languages. KPL is educational freeware. KPL was initially targeted at the 10-14 age group, but has proven to be engaging and interesting to beginning programmers and hobbyists of all ages. KPL offers a highly leveraged object model which emphasizes graphics programming, including 2D and 3D graphics. KPL intends to address the problem of declining computer science interest and enrollment by 1) making it easy for beginners to get started with computer programming, 2) capturing and holding beginners' interest by emphasizing graphics and games programming and 3) enabling a smooth "graduation" from KPL into mainstream languages and IDEs.
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- Pew Internet and American Life project, Demographics of Internet Users, December 5, 2005.Google Scholar
- Parberry, Ian, et al, The Art and Science of Game Programming, SIGCSE'06, March 2006. http://www.eng.unt.edu/~ian/pubs/fp107-parberry.pdf Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
Kid's programming language (KPL)
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Reviews
Stewart Mark Godwin
The discourse about the decline of computer science enrollments in education has generated many possible solutions aimed at engaging students in the field of computer programming. Kid's programming language (KPL) targets beginning programmers in the ten- to 14-year-old age group, with a structured language syntax that is simplistic and component oriented; it is a programming language that has a reduced learning curve, and allows the beginning programmer to choose whether to focus on content or coding. The content can be in the form of three-dimensional (3D) models, digital art, audio, or text, while coding is traditional text-based syntax and extensible class libraries that offer standard methods and functions. The analysis of the programming interface and code editor indicates that KPL was modeled after Visual Studio.NET and Eclipse, with a pedagogical advantage of allowing the beginning programmers to customize the learning environment to their specific abilities. Furthermore, the debugger incorporates the standard run, stop, and step functions, and displays in-scope variables along with the data type and current value. These features offer pedagogical value to beginning programmers as they learn the basic programming constructs of looping, selection, and variable scope. Despite a comprehensive list of benefits pertaining to the KPL program, there is minimal analysis or discussion of comparable programming languages. While the authors suggest that KPL offers significant advantages, there are no compelling arguments for the adoption of this program over its rivals. As a relatively new open source software application, KPL has not defined its niche market, and its future success will depend on educational support and contributions from volunteers. Finally, this paper more closely resembles a marketing release for KPL than an informed analysis and discussion of educational programming software. Online Computing Reviews Service
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