I resigned myself to the task of finishing my next Codebug Blockly program yesterday and went in track of understanding better something that is either a bug or an as yet non utilized feature!! The right click menu for the Blockly blocks has a "help" option at the bottom for each block that opens another browser tab to a generic help guide on the Codebug website.. Trying to gather some extra info on the bug/feature that caused me nearly 2 hours worth of disabling, torture, disconnecting, anger, deleting, confusion, rebuilding, anguish and growling... lots and lots of GROWLING!!! GRRRrrrrrrRRRRR! - I randomly clicked on a block to get to the codebug help guide to try and sift through it for some clues and was surprised to be taken to the "Google Blockly" help guide?
I was like.."well it's very similar, and seems to have a more comprehensive instruction set - so what is it??"
It is Blockly. A Google product that can be configured and used by anybody for their own applications, it comes with a free Javascript, Python, <insert a few other scripting languages here>.
I went to the Blocky Editor there expecting it to be just as painful.. but wow!! There are more instructions, The drag and drop editor is responsive.. You know that lag that Codebug Blockly has?? The one that feels as if you are trying to drag virtual blocks through virtual treacle? Then have to sit and wait until the block you just dragged over snaps into place in case it doesn't want to and decides it wants to slip down and split up a very quick sum that took way too many more blocks than it should have and about 8 minutes and 22 seconds longer than it should have out of the 8 minutes and 24 seconds it took for the total construction of said sum? THEN THE DAMNED SCREEN SCROLLED TO THE BOTTOM AGAIN... AGAIN... AGAIN.... POX ON YOU!!
Have a quick try of the google editor interface... OK OK... Its still the same Blockly... I understand, I really do...
It's great for the novelty value, I know, its like when codeblocks and all the others appeared about 15 years ago when every compiler and target platform seemed to have it's own version... until they realised... programmers write programs, not stare blankly and hurt at a computer trying to fight off a weird boredom headache brought about by nonsensical, badly fitting, unimaginative, inefficient Jigsaws. Yep Jigsaws... and they didn't even bother to put pictures on the pieces... I found a Jigsaw today and realised it had never been out of the box.. In fact I can't recall a time that I did ever just sit there and do a jigsaw. There's a reason for that.. Jigsaws are for grannies. If you have a granny, give her the best gift She could get... Give her Blockly...
Sorry!! Just kind of went off on some random erm? thing. Hah!
Here's the link for the Blockly editor and other info about it in Googles product overview https://developers.google.com/blockly/ Really is so much zippier and reactive. As mentioned above, it comes with a Blockly to Javscript converter which explains why you can't edit the generated code on the codebug site.. the included compilers/converters only go one way... It also has an included Blockly to Python converter hmmmm? makes sense..
I'm determined to get this program finished!! The issue I had was solved but yeah... I totally need to de-stress my Blockly beans before I start rebuilding it all...
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