| dc.description.abstract | In later years an effort to teach programming to children has been gaining traction. Programming is seen as an important skill for the future, and many countries are seeking to ensure that children are given the opportunity to learn programming at an early age. Visual programming languages are often used as a first introduction to programming, as they have proven to be able of lowering the bar of entry to programming. However, experience shows that moving from visual programming to textual programming is difficult. This thesis explores how this transition can be eased by creating a new programming environment specifically tailored for this purpose. Through the project a prototype system has been developed and evaluated. The system enables the user to write two-dimensional games in a domain specific language, and choosing between a visual and a textual syntax. The prototype seeks to isolate the transition from visual to textual programming, by ensuring that it can be made without worrying about semantic differences. The results indicate that this is a viable approach to solving the problem, however, further research is required. | |
