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Getting Started with Alice: A Visual Introduction to Programming Fundamentals

Dive into the world of programming with Alice, a free, visual programming language inspired by Lewis Carroll. Unlike traditional programming languages, Alice emphasizes 3D animation, allowing you to construct stories and movies without complex commands. Master programming fundamentals through engaging concepts such as sequential processing, conditional execution, and loop iterations. Break down problems, utilize procedures, and learn how to think algorithmically in a fun, interactive environment. Create captivating animations and explore the functionality of objects in a 3D virtual world.

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Getting Started with Alice: A Visual Introduction to Programming Fundamentals

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Programming with Alice

  2. Getting Started with Alice • Alice is a free programming language • Named in honor of Lewis Carroll • See web page for download URL • Different than most languages • Visual, focus on 3D animation • Same programming concepts as you would find in an object-oriented language but without obscure text commands or the mundane calculations in most intro-level courses • You play the role of a director in making a movie

  3. Programming Fundamentals • List of instructions • Sequential processing • If Statements • IF it is raining THEN take an umbrella • Conditional execution • Repeating Behavior • WHILE angry (stomp feet) • Looping or Iteration

  4. Programming Fundamentals • Breaking things up into smaller pieces • Cleaning house: clean kitchen, clean living room, clean bathroom • Each room: pick up toys, vacuum, dust furniture • Procedures, Problem Decomposition, Top-down design • Compute a result • Perform sequence of steps to obtain a result that is an answer to a question • Determining and implementing an algorithm

  5. Key to Programming • Most computers “understand” around 100 instructions; the complexity is in the different orders and combinations • Consider chess • Learning how to think about arranging a sequence of instructions to carry out a task is the most valuable part of learning how to program

  6. Flowcharting • The book uses some flowchart symbols Terminal Input/Output Processing Decision Call

  7. Sample Flowchart Start Read Value Multiply value by 2 and store in X Display value in X Stop

  8. Alice Concepts • In class: Give demo of objects in 3D world • 3D Virtual World • Objects in three dimensions • Place object with mouse; hold shift to move up/down • Objects have properties • Height, width, depth in virtual meters • Up, Down, Left, Right, Forward, Back all from the perspective of the object • Objects have center • May be center of mass or an end (e.g. bat) • Initial placement is usually on the ground • 2D Graphics • Can create a “billboard” from a 2D image

  9. Animation • Sequence of frames, each with a slightly different scene • Scene redrawn with objects positioned in a slightly different place • Alice creates (renders) the sequence of frames for you to make the animation based on instructions you give it

  10. Methods • Methods are actions with respect to some object • It is the group of code, or a procedure, that accomplishes some specific task • Objects come with a number of built-in actions • Can right-click to see methods, or drag a method to the code window

  11. Example • Add magician, Socrates to the world • Have each walk forward • Magician offers to do a trick • Magician disappears • Magician reappears in a different place • Socrates is amazed

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