Extremely Simple Guide to scratch, NO Programming Experinece required!
Note: This program does not use code in any way. It is directed to the ABSOLUTE beginner. If you are looking for anything else theis not the place.
IF this is in the wrong place, mods can you please move it?
Scratch
Q:What is Scratch?
A:Scratch is a easy to use, beginner targeted programming enviorment.
Q:Why is it so easy to use?
A:It does not use code in any way, but uses a simple and effective gui
as such, it as not as powerful as C++ or Python or Java, but it is excellent for beginners.
Q:Where do i download it?
A:
Getting Started with Scratch
First, download and install Scratch from the picture located above. Now,(if it isnt already) open up scratch. You should get something like this:
Here i will explain the interface.
As you can see, its pretty simple.
Youre First program
Okay, i am going to post the code first, and then tell you what it does.
This script is supposed to make our little cat dance. Before you run it, i am going to show you what each part does
This is signifes that when you click the little green flag in the upper right corner, what ever is below happens.
This signifies that your sprite will move 10 steps(which actually isnt alot of space)
This is pretty self explanatory. It plays drum # 48 for 0.2 beats.
this moves your sprite backward 10 steps. It is found in the motion category.
And that is it. Try your program out, will ya.
Woops. It looks like Mr. Sprite isnt dancing for more than about a second. We need to fix that. So to fix that, we need to run it so it dosent stop. hmmm.... doesnt stop.
If you guessed we need a loop, you where right! here is a picture of the completed script, with the loop. (it is found in the control tab)
So now, our program is finished! Thats the end of this chapter.
Animation and sound
Okay, this is going to be a quick section. First of all, go ahead and delete Mr. Cat and open up a new sprite(pick any one).
Open sprite button.
Next, go to the costumes tab(
) and click import(under the costumes tab, not a new sprite.), and import another sprite. Do it as many times as you want. Now, go back to the scripts tab, and create this script.
As you can see there is one new element that we havent seen before in this script.
The next costume script makes the sprite go to its next costume. It is found in the looks tab.
If you run your program now, you will see that it just goes through the costumes at ligthing speed. We should fix that. To fix that here is our new script.
As you can see, there is a new block in there!
As you can see it is pretty self explanatory. It waits 1 second and then continues. It is found in the control category.
Now we should add sound. Here is a picture of our completed program, complete with animation and sound
Heh, nothing new here.
The pen and if else
Alright, Now to go to my favorite part of this. First of all, you need to open up the pen sprite. It is in the folder Things and is called Drawing Pencil.
Alright, Now theres not that much you can do. Just start up the program and "draw" with the mouse.
Alright, heres the script for the pen. Go ahead and add another sprite of your kind(one without any scripts attached)
Okay, after that go into your new sprite and insert this script. dont worry, i will tell you what everything does and how to use it.
ALright, except for the when green falg clicked, this is entirely new to us.
This goes in the box that fits it in the is block(
) It senese that the sprite is touching the color blue
This is one of the most powerful tools of programming. It says "if my thing is Blah, then do blah, but if its not, do blah"(note that you can make a if elseif statement by adding another if statement to the else box.)
This is pretty simple. It creates a textbox above the sprites head display your text for 2 seconds.
Now, if you try and run it, you will notice that it dosent go forever. Yep, we need another loop!
Try and run your program now(note: if you have too much ink on your stage you can go to the pen category of sblocks and double click the clear one. That will clear the stage of your ink.)
Now, if you will notice your sprite still wont react to the color. What you need to do is write some ink on your stage, then click on the part of the blue sensing block that has a color inside is. your mouse will turn into a color picker. Click on the ink with your mouse. Now run your program again. It should work now.
Congadulations on completeing my tutorial. This is not a tutorial aimed at experts, but for absolute beginners. I will make more tutorials in the future.
Note: This program does not use code in any way. It is directed to the ABSOLUTE beginner. If you are looking for anything else theis not the place.
IF this is in the wrong place, mods can you please move it?
Q:What is Scratch?
A:Scratch is a easy to use, beginner targeted programming enviorment.
Q:Why is it so easy to use?
A:It does not use code in any way, but uses a simple and effective gui
as such, it as not as powerful as C++ or Python or Java, but it is excellent for beginners.
Q:Where do i download it?
A:
Getting Started with Scratch
First, download and install Scratch from the picture located above. Now,(if it isnt already) open up scratch. You should get something like this:
Here i will explain the interface.
As you can see, its pretty simple.
Youre First program
Okay, i am going to post the code first, and then tell you what it does.
This script is supposed to make our little cat dance. Before you run it, i am going to show you what each part does
This is signifes that when you click the little green flag in the upper right corner, what ever is below happens.
This signifies that your sprite will move 10 steps(which actually isnt alot of space)
This is pretty self explanatory. It plays drum # 48 for 0.2 beats.
this moves your sprite backward 10 steps. It is found in the motion category.
And that is it. Try your program out, will ya.
Woops. It looks like Mr. Sprite isnt dancing for more than about a second. We need to fix that. So to fix that, we need to run it so it dosent stop. hmmm.... doesnt stop.
If you guessed we need a loop, you where right! here is a picture of the completed script, with the loop. (it is found in the control tab)
So now, our program is finished! Thats the end of this chapter.
Animation and sound
Okay, this is going to be a quick section. First of all, go ahead and delete Mr. Cat and open up a new sprite(pick any one).
Open sprite button.Next, go to the costumes tab(
) and click import(under the costumes tab, not a new sprite.), and import another sprite. Do it as many times as you want. Now, go back to the scripts tab, and create this script.As you can see there is one new element that we havent seen before in this script.
The next costume script makes the sprite go to its next costume. It is found in the looks tab.
If you run your program now, you will see that it just goes through the costumes at ligthing speed. We should fix that. To fix that here is our new script.
As you can see, there is a new block in there!
As you can see it is pretty self explanatory. It waits 1 second and then continues. It is found in the control category.
Now we should add sound. Here is a picture of our completed program, complete with animation and sound
Heh, nothing new here.
The pen and if else
Alright, Now to go to my favorite part of this. First of all, you need to open up the pen sprite. It is in the folder Things and is called Drawing Pencil.
Alright, Now theres not that much you can do. Just start up the program and "draw" with the mouse.
Alright, heres the script for the pen. Go ahead and add another sprite of your kind(one without any scripts attached)
Okay, after that go into your new sprite and insert this script. dont worry, i will tell you what everything does and how to use it.
ALright, except for the when green falg clicked, this is entirely new to us.
This goes in the box that fits it in the is block(
) It senese that the sprite is touching the color blueThis is one of the most powerful tools of programming. It says "if my thing is Blah, then do blah, but if its not, do blah"(note that you can make a if elseif statement by adding another if statement to the else box.)
This is pretty simple. It creates a textbox above the sprites head display your text for 2 seconds.
Now, if you try and run it, you will notice that it dosent go forever. Yep, we need another loop!
Try and run your program now(note: if you have too much ink on your stage you can go to the pen category of sblocks and double click the clear one. That will clear the stage of your ink.)
Now, if you will notice your sprite still wont react to the color. What you need to do is write some ink on your stage, then click on the part of the blue sensing block that has a color inside is. your mouse will turn into a color picker. Click on the ink with your mouse. Now run your program again. It should work now.
Congadulations on completeing my tutorial. This is not a tutorial aimed at experts, but for absolute beginners. I will make more tutorials in the future.
