An educational programming language (EPL) is a programming language used primarily as a learning tool, and a starting point before transitioning to more complex programming languages.
Types of educational programming languages Assembly languages Initially, machine code was the sole method of programming computers. Assembly language (ASM), introduced mnemonics to replace low-level instructions, making it one of the oldest programming languages still used today. Numerous dialects and implementations exist, each tailored to a specific computer processor architecture. Assembly languages are low-level and more challenging to use, as they are untyped and rigid. For educational purposes, simplified dialects of assembly languages have been developed to make coding more accessible to beginners. Assembly languages are designed for specific processor architectures, and they must be written with the corresponding hardware in mind. Unlike higher-level languages, educational assembly languages require a representation of a processor which can be virtual or physical. These languages are often used in educational settings to demonstrate the fundamental operations of a computer processor.
Little Man Computer (LMC), (1965) is an instructional model of a simple von Neumann architecture computer. It includes the basic features of modern computers and can be programmed using machine code (usually in decimal) or assembly. The model simulates a computer environment using a visual metaphor of a person (the "Little Man") in a room with 100 mailboxes (memory), a calculator (the accumulator) and a program counter. LMC is used to help students understand basic processor functions and memory management. CARDIAC (1968) is very similar to LMC, but introduces some refinements such as negative numbers, a four-digit accumulator, storing the return address for subroutines in location 99, and an accumulator shift instruction. It was distributed by Bell Labs to high school students as a cardboard kit. Input and output are done via virtual punch card decks (represented by paper strips), which is also how programs are loaded into CARDIAC initially, unlike LMC. MIX (1968) and MMIX (1999) are computer models featured in Donald Knuth's (Art of Computer Programming). The MIX computer is designed for educational purposes, illustrating how a basic machine language operates. Despite its simplicity, it can handle complex tasks typical of high-performance computers. MIX allows programming in both binary and decimal, with software emulators available for both models. MMIX, which superseded MIX, is a 64-bit RISC instruction set architecture, modernized for teaching contemporary computer architecture. Instructo paper computer (1979) was published by McGraw Hill Education and was intended to teach computer concepts to middle school students. Compared to LMC or CARDIAC, this paper computer is a bit more playful, featuring start/stop/reset "buttons" and jump switches. However, its instruction set is quite advanced, with instructions for printing strings, multiplication and division, printing fractions, and even calculating roots and powers. Like the CARDIAC, it uses an elaborate layout with multiple paper strips inserted in various places on the page. An open manila folder was typically used when students had to build the paper computer themselves from scratch. WDR paper computer (1983) is a very minimalist paper computer with only five CPU instructions that was introduced on a German TV show for computer education. Only a pen (for the program counter) and matchsticks or coins (for the register contents) are needed for its operation. Its very limited instruction set means that programs are typically quite a bit longer than e.g. on the LMC or CARDIAC. DLX (1994) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor architecture created by key developers of the MIPS and Berkeley RISC designs. DLX is a simplified version of MIPS, offering a 32-bit load/store architecture commonly used in college-level computer architecture courses. Next Byte Codes (NBC), (2007) is a simple assembly language used for programming Lego Mindstorms NXT programmable bricks. The NBC compiler produces NXT-compatible machine code and is supported on Windows, macOS and Linux. Little Computer 3 (LC-3), (2019) is an assembly language with a simplified instruction set, enabling the writing of moderately complex assembly programs. It includes many features found in more advanced languages, making it useful for teaching basic programming and computer architecture. It is primarily used in introductory computer science and engineering courses. Chombit (2020) is a 32-bit CPU architecture implemented by the Hybrix virtual machine. Project documentation describes the architecture as educationally oriented, incorporating features such as framed registers and a secondary stack used to track garbage-collection roots. Despite these simplifications, it remains a conventional processor model, including explicit instruction timing and memory-mapped I/O.
BASIC variants BASIC (Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was invented in 1964, to provide computer access to non-science students. It became popular on minicomputers during the 1960s and became a standard computing language for microcomputers during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The goals of BASIC were focused on the need to learn to program easily and they are to: Be easy for beginners to use. Be interactive. Provide clear and friendly error messages. Respond quickly. Not require an understanding of computer hardware or operating systems.
What made BASIC attractive for education was the small size of programs that could illustrate a concept in a dozen lines. BASIC continues to be frequently self-taught with tutorials and implementations.
See also: List of BASIC dialects by platform
BASIC offers a learning path from learning-oriented BASICs such as Microsoft Small Basic, BASIC-256 SIMPLE and to more full-featured BASICs like Visual Basic (.NET) and Gambas. Microsoft Small Basic is a restricted version of Visual Basic (classic), which is designed as "an introductory programming language for beginners". It's intentionally minimal with just 15 reserved words (keywords) for basic functions. By providing specific libraries for topics that interest children, they can create programs for both the web and desktop environments. For example, with 6 lines of code, it is possible to demonstrate a random network image viewer using Flickr as the source.Microsoft corporation 2009 Getting Started Guide for Small Basic, p. 64. The system uses the Microsoft Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE) to provide auto-completion and context-sensitive help. Basic-256 is an easy-to-use version of BASIC designed to teach anybody the basics of computer programming. It uses traditional BASIC control structures (gosub, for loops, goto) for easy understanding of program control flow. It has a built-in graphics mode that allows children to draw pictures on the screen after minutes. SiMPLE is a programming development system that was created to provide easy programming abilities for everybody, especially non-professionals. It is somewhat like Applesoft BASIC. It is compiled and lets users make their own libraries of often-used functions. "Simple" is a generic term for three slightly different versions of the language: Micro-SIMPLE (uses only 4 keywords), Pro-SiMPLE, and Ultra-SiMPLE (using 23 keywords). Hot Soup Processor is a BASIC-derived language used in Japanese schools. TI-BASIC is a simple BASIC-like language implemented in Texas Instruments graphing calculators, often serving as a student's first look at programming. SmallBASIC is a fast and easy-to-learn BASIC language interpreter ideal for everyday calculations, scripts and prototypes. It includes trigonometry, matrix, and algebra functions, a built-in IDE, a powerful string library, system, sound and graphic commands, and a structured programming syntax.
C-based Ch is a C/C++ interpreter designed to help non-CS students learn math, computing and programming in C and C++. It extends C with numerical, 2D/3D graphical plotting and scripting features.
Java-based NetLogo, written in Java and Scala, is a development environment for building and exploring scientific models, specifically agent-based models.
Lisp-based Lisp is the second oldest family of programming languages in use today and as such has many dialects and implementations with a wide range of difficulties. Lisp was originally created as a practical mathematical notation for computer programs, based on lambda calculus, which makes it particularly well suited for teaching theories of computing. As one of the earliest languages, Lisp pioneered many ideas in computer science, including tree data structures, automatic storage management, dynamic typing, object-oriented programming and the self-hosting compiler, all of which are useful for learning computer science. The name LISP derives from "List Processing language." Linked lists are one of the languages major data structures and Lisp source code is made of lists. Thus, Lisp programs can manipulate source code as a data structure, giving rise to the macro systems that allow programmers to create new syntax or even new domain-specific languages embedded in Lisp. Therefore, Lisp can be useful for learning language design.
Logo-based Logo is a language that was specifically designed to introduce children to programming. The first part of learning Logo deals with "turtle graphics" (derived from turtle robots) used as early as 1969. In modern implementations, an abstract drawing device, called the turtle, is used to make programming for children very attractive by concentrating on doing turtle graphics. Seymour Papert, one of the creators of Logo, was a prominent figure in constructionism, a variety of constructivist learning theories. Papert argued that activities like writing would naturally be learned by much younger children provided that they adopt a computing culture. Logo was designed to introduce children to programming through visual aids and concepts in a technology-focused curriculum. "More important than having an early start on intellectual building is being saved from a long period of dependency during which one learns to think of learning as something that has to be dished out by a more powerful other...Such children would not define themselves or allow society to define them as intellectually helpless." It has been used by children as young as 3 years old and has a track record of 30 years of success in education. Since Logo is actually a streamlined version of Lisp with more advanced students, it can be used to introduce the basic concepts of computer science and even artificial intelligence. Logo is available on multiple platforms, offered in both free and commercial versions for educational use.
Scala-based Kojo is an interactive desktop development environment, developed primarily for educational purposes. The application runs on Windows, Linux and macOS. Kojo is a learning environment, with many different features that help with the exploration, learning and teaching of concepts in computer programming, critical thinking, math, science, art, music, creative thinking, computer and internet literacy.
Smalltalk-based