Blockly

Blockly is a client-side library for the programming language JavaScript for creating block-based visual programming languages (VPLs) and editors. A project of Google, it is free and open-source software released under the Apache License 2.0.^[2] It typically runs in a web browser, and visually resembles the language Scratch.

Blockly

Original author(s)	Neil Fraser, Quynh Neutron, Ellen Spertus, Mark Friedman
Developer(s)	Google, MIT
Initial release	May 2012; 12 years ago (2012-05)
Stable release	Q1 2022 Patch 3 / 8 June 2022; 2 years ago (2022-06-08)[1]
Repository	github.com/google/blockly
Written in	JavaScript
Platform	Web browser
Size	150 KB
Available in	50 languages
List of languages English
Type	Library
License	Apache License 2.0
Website	developers.google.com/blockly

Blockly uses visual blocks that link together to make writing code easier, and can generate code in JavaScript, Lua, Dart, Python, or PHP. It can also be customized to generate code in any textual programming language.^[3]

History

Blockly development began in summer 2011. The first public release was in May 2012 at Maker Faire. Blockly was originally designed as a replacement for OpenBlocks in App Inventor.^[4] Neil Fraser began the project with Quynh Neutron, Ellen Spertus, and Mark Friedman as contributors.

User interface

Example of Blockly code to convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius

Example of Blockly code with a while loop

The default graphical user interface (GUI) of the Blockly editor consists of a toolbox, which holds available blocks, and where a user can select blocks, and a workspace, where a user can drag and drop and rearrange blocks. The workspace also includes, by default, zoom icons, and a trashcan to delete blocks.^[5] The editor can be modified easily to customize and limit the available editing features and blocks.

Customization

Blockly includes a set of visual blocks for common operations, and can be customized by adding more blocks. New blocks require a block definition and a generator. The definition describes the block's appearance (user interface) and the generator describes the block's translation to executable code. Definitions and generators can be written in JavaScript, or using a visual set of blocks, the Block Factory, which allows new blocks to be described using extant visual blocks; the intent is to make creating new blocks easier.

Applications

Blockly is used in several notable projects, including:

• MIT's Scratch (since version 3.0), visual programming environment for education^[6]
• MIT's App Inventor, to create applications for Android.^[7]
• MIT's CoCo, visual collaborative programming website for education.
• Code.org, to teach introductory programing to millions of students in their Hour of Code program^[8]
• Microsoft's MakeCode, "a free online learn-to-code platform where anyone can build games, code devices, and mod Minecraft" ^[9][10]
• RoboBlockly, a web-based robot simulation environment for learning coding and math
• PICAXE, to control their educational microchips^[11]
• SAM Labs, in STEAM learn-to-code "education solutions"^{[clarification needed]}

Features

• Web-based using Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
• Completely client-side JavaScript
• Support of major web browsers including: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Edge
• Support for many programmatic constructs including variables, functions, arrays
• Minimal type checking supported, designed for dynamically typed languages
• Easy to extend with custom blocks
• Clean code generation^[12]
• Step-by-step code execution for tracing and debugging code^[13]
• Localised into 100+ languages^[14]
• Support for left-to-right and right-to-left languages^[15]