Introduced in 2009, Minecraft™ has become an enormous success with gaming kids and adults. Users love exploring and building within Minecraft’s mind-bogglingly large environments. This game allows users to practice STEM skills while having fun. One of its greatest strengths is its ability to teach coding principles with “redstone” blocks. These blocks can be used to make exciting machines and devices in Minecraft’s virtual world. With this volume, readers will learn the logic and technology behind coding with Minecraft™. Photographs, diagrams, sidebars, and a graphic organizer help reinforce basic coding concepts. Minecraft is a trademark of Mojang (a game development studio owned by Microsoft Technology Corporation), and its use in this book does not imply a recommendation or endorsement of this title by Mojang or Microsoft.

A hands-on introduction to coding that teaches you how to program bots to do cool things in the game you love--Minecraft! This book takes the robotic "turtle" method, and extends it to the 3D, interactive world of Minecraft. You've mined for diamonds, crafted dozens of tools, and built all sorts of structures--but what if you could program robots to do all of that for you in a fraction of the time? In Coding with Minecraft®, you'll create a virtual robot army with Lua, a programming language used by professional game developers. Step-by-step coding projects will show you how to write programs that automatically dig mines, collect materials, craft items, and build anything that you can imagine. Along the way, you'll explore key computer science concepts like data types, functions, variables, and more. Learn how to: - Program robots that make smart decisions with flow control - Reuse code so that your robots can farm any crop you want, including wheat, sugar cane, and even cacti! - Program a factory that generates infinite building supplies - Design an algorithm for creating walls and buildings of any size - Code yourself a pickaxe-swinging robotic lumberjack! - Create a robot that digs mine shafts with stairs so you can explore safely Bonus activities in each chapter will help you take your coding skills to the next level. By the end of the book, you'll understand how powerful coding can be and have plenty of robots at your beck and call.

You’ve bested creepers, traveled deep into caves, and maybe even gone to The End and back—but have you ever transformed a sword into a magic wand? Built a palace in the blink of an eye? Designed your own color-changing disco dance floor? In Learn to Program with Minecraft®, you’ll do all this and more with the power of Python, a free language used by millions of professional and first-time programmers! Begin with some short, simple Python lessons and then use your new skills to modify Minecraft to produce instant and totally awesome results. Learn how to customize Minecraft to make mini-games, duplicate entire buildings, and turn boring blocks into gold. You’ll also write programs that: –Take you on an automated teleportation tour around your Minecraft world –Build massive monuments, pyramids, forests, and more in a snap! –Make secret passageways that open when you activate a hidden switch –Create a spooky ghost town that vanishes and reappears elsewhere –Show exactly where to dig for rare blocks –Cast a spell so that a cascade of flowers (or dynamite if you’re daring!) follows your every move –Make mischief with dastardly lava traps and watery curses that cause huge floods Whether you’re a Minecraft megafan or a newbie, you’ll see Minecraft in a whole new light while learning the basics of programming. Sure, you could spend all day mining for precious resources or building your mansion by hand, but with the power of Python, those days are over! Requires: Windows 7 or later; OS X 10.10 or later; or a Raspberry Pi. Uses Python 3

"First published in Great Britain in 2018 by Wayland"--Title page verso.

Coding Activities and Adventures for Kids! Unleash the master coder in your child with this activity-filled guide! Fun coding adventures show kids just how far their imagination can take them. (Did you know coding took us to the moon?!) Complete with simple steps, colorful illustrations, and easy-to-follow screenshots, kids will find the encouragement they need to dive right in and discover the amazing power of coding. You’ll both love how Kids Can Code: Gives kids the confidence to master coding through simple projects that feel like play. Helps young learners get to know some of the most common coding languages—and the many ways they’re used to invent and create—in kid-friendly ways. Makes concepts like plot coordinates and binary code simple (even fun!) to grasp. Boosts computational thinking—tackling large problems by breaking them down into a sequence of smaller, more manageable problems. Gives kids a taste of the many ways coding be used—from music and design to animation and gaming. The activity-based learning in this guide sets kids up for immediate coding success, so they feel like a real programmer. It’s the best way to keep them learning and excited about technology!

Coding was once an inaccessible activity for elementary students, but not any more. Scratch is an exciting and easy-to-learn coding program for people of all ages. Instead of lines of text, users code by dragging and dropping colorful, stackable blocks to create animations. With this colorful, intuitive, and simple application, even new Scratch users will begin to understand the logic behind coding in just minutes! Coding examples and photographs of age-appropriate students help readers feel at ease with STEM concepts. Sidebars and a graphic organizer help readers get the most out of this informative volume.

This detailed guide explores the historical development of algorithms and how they are used as a way of teaching computers to work through problems. Named for Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, modern algorithms and functions make programing more efficient. Algorithms are simplified for readers using words, flowcharts, and pseudo code to build a beginning understanding of algorithms and how they are used in our modern, computerized world. Young coders and STEM students are sure to strengthen their technical skills with an in-depth and fun exploration of this essential coding topic.