Google has launched Grasshopper, an app designed to assist beginners learn coding in a fun manner. The app was developed by one of the teams in Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator.
As described in its Google Play Store listing, “Grasshopper is the best way to start your coding adventure with fun, quick games on your smart phone that teach you to write real JavaScript. Move through progressively challenging levels as you develop your abilities, then graduate with fundamental programming skills for your next step as a code”.
The Grasshopper begins by asking if you have experience in coding. If you cannot code, it gives you a rundown of the concepts of coding in simple words and gives you mini-quizzes on what you have learnt.
After learning the concept of coding, you then proceed to learning the fundamentals. “The Fundamentals” includes lessons on variables, functions, strings and the likes. After the introduction of each new concept, you get several puzzles for practice. Subsequent courses cover animations.
On the sidebar, one can see how many courses one have unlocked. There’s also a code playground where you can practise all you’ve learnt and a support forum to interact with other users.
It is designed to fit into people's busy schedule by affording them the opportunity to breeze through a couple of lessons each day when they have spare time.
