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Blockly

Blockly is a library for building visual programming editors.

Blockly

Blockly Reviews and Details

This page is designed to help you find out whether Blockly is good and if it is the right choice for you.

Screenshots and images

  • Blockly Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18

Features & Specs

  1. User-Friendly

    Blockly offers a highly intuitive and visual interface. Users, especially beginners and non-programmers, can easily drag and drop blocks to create programs without needing to write code manually.

  2. Educational Value

    Blockly is excellent for educational purposes. It simplifies the learning curve for programming by abstracting the complexities of syntax, allowing learners to focus on understanding logic and computational thinking.

  3. Cross-Language Support

    Blockly can generate code for multiple programming languages (JavaScript, Python, PHP, Lua, Dart). This makes it versatile and useful for teaching and transitioning to various languages.

  4. Customizability

    Blockly is highly customizable. Developers can create custom blocks and define their own rules, making it adaptable to various projects and domain-specific needs.

  5. Open Source

    As an open-source project, Blockly provides the flexibility to modify and extend the toolkit to fit specific requirements. This open nature encourages community contributions and improvements.

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Videos

Blockly: Using Block Based Coding in your App

Fable Blockly Review

Trying Out Blockly, Google's New Programming Language [DiceTV]

Social recommendations and mentions

We have tracked the following product recommendations or mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you see what people think about Blockly and what they use it for.
  • Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?
    Scratch is fantastic. There are also a number of similar (block-based) tools that let you create your own custom blocks and see the code behind them - e.g. Blockly (https://developers.google.com/blockly). - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Modern Day Equivalent to HyperCard?
    If your kid is already doing Scratch, Blockly is a really easy next step. https://developers.google.com/blockly Critically, Blockly can emit JavaScript and Python, plus it supports plugins for extended functionality. So the kid can stay inside the blockly universe for as long as they like, but easily peer under the hood and get into Python or JavaScript as soon as they like. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • A shortage of teachers for computer science classes in California
    The issue with Alice is that graphical, block based coding is not at all an ergonomic way to code. Sure, C++ probably isn't the best for an intro CS courses, either, but even just Python with some wrappers over SDL to draw sprites is not only a better teaching tool it's also forms a more useful springboard to build other projects. Graphical, block based coding seems to be a common attempt to make coding more... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • โšง๏ธŽ Super Smash Siblings Trans
    Unless it would contradict canon, every stage is very bright, highly interactive, full of pre-placed items, and so huge that you can usually run from your NPC opponents and enjoy exploring the stage in peace while they catch up to you. All buildings have Linux computers with actual internet access that allow you to program and print out your own projectiles/books/flags/UNO reverse cards/shinigami eyes/soupcans/cis... Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Scratch is the worldโ€™s largest coding community for children
    If your kids tinker with Scratch, try out TurboWarp[1], a Scratch mod that compiles projects to JavaScript. Other alternatives to tinker with are Blocky[2] and Snap[3]. 1. https://turbowarp.org 2. https://developers.google.com/blockly/ 3. https://snap.berkeley.edu. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • (Free) Visual Scripting Game Engine
    Google made bockly It works with 5 languages. I think #C PHP and JavaScript. I know JavaScript for sure . But not sure about the others. blockly. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Am I wrong?
    And as a corollary, Blockly: https://developers.google.com/blockly. Source: over 3 years ago
  • coding
    Https://developers.google.com/blockly (Block programming, very good with helping learn the logic). Source: over 3 years ago
  • To be learned before or after Python?
    Another block environment Blockly does compile to Javascript, and you can add your own block sets and use it in your existing webapp as a sort of workflow programming tool. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Ask HN: S/W development text editor have feature colorizing every iteration?
    ** https://developers.google.com/blockly. - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago
  • Godot 4.0 will discontinue visual scripting
    Huh, I wonder it is possible to just do visual editor on top of gdscript instead similar to https://developers.google.com/blockly/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago
  • Interesting examples of visual programming?
    For an idea of what a library of programming units looks like, there's Google's Blockly (descended from Scratch) https://developers.google.com/blockly. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • I've created Sequential Workflow Designer in pure Typescript
    This is just a generic web component. You may take it and create what you want. Here a few ideas: * fullscreen * image filter * live testing * particles Basically, I would say, if are you creating a no-code app, that kind of a component is mandatory. On the market you can find some alternatives like Blockly. Source: about 4 years ago
  • Is there any research or articles on different, more efficient compiler designs?
    Why text as the input? Humans like text. Scratch/Blockly might be said not to have a parser. Simple LISPs' parsers can be trivial to the point of feeling more like deserialization than parsing. Source: about 4 years ago
  • Discord's default profile pictures have a fun secret
    Haha I had that same idea once! I used Google's Blockly, but I never finished it. Hopefully yours goes better than mine! Source: about 4 years ago
  • How do I start a learn-to-code program without knowing how to code myself?
    Or use Processing.org or Blocky](https://developers.google.com/blockly) Processing is pretty easy to explain the basics and make images with code, but I suggest making a colour cheat sheet. Source: over 4 years ago
  • Kerbal Space Program 2: Episode 5 - Interstellar Travel
    Simple manoeuvrers could be just given but for something like suicide burn you'd have to go and program it. Either in some simple programming language or maybe something like Blockly. Source: over 4 years ago
  • Ask HN: How do you make a NoCode/LowCode application?
    Blockly is an example of no-code app that generates code. It is a good starting point to understand how you can build a no code framework. Blockly is... https://developers.google.com/blockly High level concepts 1. A workspace. - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago
  • Engineering Management and Teaching Computer Science Education with Dave Bock
    And after we're done with that, they've seen the program they've written. It's a drag and drop like Scratch, Blockly, they call it. You can't make a syntax error. Well, I showed them a Connect Four program I wrote. We played Connect Four, and it handily beat a whole fifth-grade class. And I'm projecting the code up on the screen and talking them through it. And I'm saying, "Well, look, there's a lot more of it.... - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
  • developing a (limited) visual programming language
    By what you described, the closest existing library according to what you need is Blockly (by Google), where you can create custom blocks, structure the "flow" of your script visually with the building blocks you pre-configured and then have the output in any supported language (JavaScript, Python...). Source: over 4 years ago
  • Any programming languages similar to scratch but more serious as an actual programming language?
    Google's Blockly is a tool that can help bridge the gap between block based coding and conventional text based languages. It enables you to create code using a block based interface similar to Scratch while simultaneously showing you what the equivalent code is in many of the languages mentioned in this thread (Python, JavaScript, Lua, etc). Source: over 4 years ago

Summary of the public mentions of Blockly

Public Opinion Summary on Blockly

Blockly, a Google creation, is increasingly recognized as a prominent tool in the realm of visual programming. Its popularity stems from its versatility and user-friendly design, notably offering a drag-and-drop editor that allows users to construct programs by arranging blocks that represent code snippets. Positioned prominently within developer tools, web frameworks, and education, Blockly addresses the needs of diverse audiences ranging from novice programmers and children to educators and professionals.

Educational Appeal Blockly serves as a stepping stone for young learners transitioning from platforms like Scratchโ€”another renowned block-based educational tool. It provides an intuitive next-step approach for children looking to delve deeper into programming. Several public mentions emphasize Blockly's ability to generate syntactically correct code in languages such as JavaScript and Python. This capability is particularly beneficial in educational contexts, offering a seamless progression toward understanding more complex, text-based programming languages. The drag-and-drop interface invites children and novices alike to experiment without fear of syntax errors, presenting programming concepts like loops and conditional statements in a digestible format.

Tool for Bridging Skills In the context of the software industry's ongoing search for intuitive programming tools, Blockly's ability to bridge block coding with text-based code outputs is significant. It allows users to visualize algorithmic flow through block structures while facilitating an understanding of corresponding text-based code. This dual nature supports learning at various levels and appeals to both educational and professional environments where understanding underlying code logic is essential.

Versatility and Integration Blockly's strength also lies in its configurability and client-side architecture, requiring no server-side dependencies. This makes it a highly adaptable addition to web applications, allowing developers to integrate Blockly as a no-code or low-code tool to enhance application functionality. This versatility supports custom block and workflow creation, making it a favored choice for developers seeking to embed interactive programming interfaces within apps or develop proprietary visual scripting tools.

Public Discussion and Challenges Despite its accolades, Blockly, like other block-based tools, faces skepticism from some professionals who argue against the ergonomics of graphical coding. Critics suggest that traditional text-based coding might be more effective as a long-term learning strategy, questioning the true benefits of graphical interfaces beyond their initial educational value. However, this viewpoint is counterbalanced by numerous supportive comments highlighting Blockly's role in enabling learning and experimentation without intimidating syntax concerns.

Conclusion Overall, public opinion portrays Blockly as a valuable educational tool and a robust addition to developers' toolkits. Its ability to demystify programming concepts and facilitate code generation in multiple languages appeals to educational institutions and developers alike. While it shares competitive space with others like Scratch and Snap, Blockly's adaptability and support for custom code development set it apart. It remains a compelling platform for those exploring visual programming and aiming to bridge the divide between novice understanding and professional software development practices.

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Is Blockly good? This is an informative page that will help you find out. Moreover, you can review and discuss Blockly here. The primary details have not been verified within the last quarter, and they might be outdated. If you think we are missing something, please use the means on this page to comment or suggest changes. All reviews and comments are highly encouranged and appreciated as they help everyone in the community to make an informed choice. Please always be kind and objective when evaluating a product and sharing your opinion.