Easylang
Languages and libraries
beginner programming language
SHOW HN2022
167points
55comments
#363of 2,570 in 2022
Top 15%of 2022 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
5 positive, 5 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 4 critical, out of 18 comments about the project. Thread score +0.11.
Design: 1 for, 3 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 againstIdea: 1 for, 0 againstPerformance: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Simple, clear IDE and easy graphics syntax
From 3 comments
This may be a lost cause, but I don't think a beginner language should have mutable data at all. The only reason we really need mutability is for speed - our programs have to run…
robto on HNThis feels a lot like a BASIC and logo had a child and that is not a bad thing. Love the easy graphics, simple syntax, and removing all the punctuation. Love the a = number input…
indymike on HNNo parens, brackets, etc... Thank you :)
vetelko on HN
Feels like a BASIC and Logo hybrid; nice little language
From 2 comments
This feels a lot like a BASIC and logo had a child and that is not a bad thing. Love the easy graphics, simple syntax, and removing all the punctuation. Love the a = number input…
indymike on HNIt looks like a BASIC. Are there any benefits over other educational/games-oriented BASICs? How does it compare to educational languages, like Hedy? https://www.hedycode.com
azhenley on HN
Objections
Array indexing starting at 1 is unintuitive
From 2 comments
You're my man! The only complaint is array index starts with 1. Can we break backwards compatibility please and make it 0?
RomanPushkin on HNThat does not make it easier though... you explained just now, and I understood, but where am I to pull it out of (because it is not intuitive at all) if not documentation? Just…
johnisgood on HN
Dropped into the first tutorial page with unclear navigation
From 1 comment
> where am I to pull it out of (because it is not intuitive at all) if not documentation? It is in the documentation. Quoting from the documentation: > String variables end with…
Jtsummers on HN
Unit-less numbers for colour and coordinates are hard to read
From 1 comment
This is great and thank you for making programming more approachable! I think some of the numbers would benefit from units. For example colours, size, coordinates etc can all be…
pacifika on HN
Using end instead of endwhile or endfor may cause bugs
From 1 comment
This feels a lot like a BASIC and logo had a child and that is not a bad thing. Love the easy graphics, simple syntax, and removing all the punctuation. Love the a = number input…
indymike on HN
Requests
Make array indexing start at 0
From 1 comment
You're my man! The only complaint is array index starts with 1. Can we break backwards compatibility please and make it 0?
RomanPushkin on HN
Provide one brief tutorial at a time
From 1 comment
You need to provide one brief tutorial at a time, otherwise it is overwhelming for learners.
29athrowaway on HN
Add a code snippet on the landing page
From 1 comment
Couple observations: - you should have a code snippet on your landing page - in your python comparison it is unclear why easylang decides that a is a number.
sbergot on HN
Questions
How does it compare to educational BASICs and Hedy?
From 1 comment
It looks like a BASIC. Are there any benefits over other educational/games-oriented BASICs? How does it compare to educational languages, like Hedy? https://www.hedycode.com
azhenley on HN
Why is a number inferred from a plain variable name?
From 1 comment
Couple observations: - you should have a code snippet on your landing page - in your python comparison it is unclear why easylang decides that a is a number.
sbergot on HN
Alternatives named
Hedy
From 1 comment
This reminded me a little of Hedy language: https://www.hedycode.com/ It starts off super simple, like: print something and then introduces all the fiddly concepts like quoting,…
ZeroGravitas on HN
Pyret
From 2 comments
Pyret (https://www.pyret.org) is already filling this role very nicely (browser-based Python-like for use in teaching), and has the advantage of having been designed by people…
velcrovan on HNYou might be interested in Pyret, if only because the stated goals are similar. https://www.pyret.org/
bmitc on HN
Logo and turtle graphics
From 2 comments
Reminds me of Logo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language) Python has a Logo-ish mode called turtle graphics: https://docs.python.org/3/library/turtle.html
thesuperbigfrog on HNAs much as I love BASIC from a nostalgia standpoint, Logo is still better -- Scratch is basically blocks-based Logo, and so Logo makes more sense as a first text-based language.…
empressplay on HN
COMAL
From 1 comment
I got the same feeling... Reminded me of COMAL(1) with the turtle graphics 'hook' to get kids immediately interested. I actually have some fond memories of teaching Comal to…
mech422 on HN
Elm
From 1 comment
McMaster University teaches w/ Elm (only the runtime mutates), which is probably more aligned with your interests. http://outreach.mcmaster.ca/
rapind on HN