What is Scratch?

Scratch is a dynamic visual programming language–developed by a team of researches at MIT. Scratch is based on another interpreted dynamic visual programming language called Squeak. Being dynamic, it lets code be changed even as programs are running.

What is Scratch used for?

Scratch’s main goal is to teach programming concepts to children and teens while letting them create games, animations, videos, music, and art. Scratch also enables participants to share their creations on their website.

The Interface

The user interface for the Scratch development environment divides the screen into several panes: on the left is the blocks palette, in the middle the current sprite info and scripts area, and on the right the stage and sprite list. The blocks palette has code fragments (called “blocks”) that can be dragged onto the scripts area to make programs. The palette is organized into 8 groups of blocks: movement, looks, sound, pen, control, sensing, numbers, and variables(1).

Scratch Interface

Image Effects Tutorial

Costs:

Free License

Pros

• Free license
• Excellent way of combining multimedia using programming concepts
• Scratch website is a great resource for sharing ideas and projects

Cons

• Becomes addictive

References

1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_(programming_language)