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If you download and install Greenfoot and the Java JDK on your computer, you will have an opportunity to place a Greenfoot icon on your desktop. Justdouble-click the icon to start the Greenfoot program running. (Although not necessary, it is probably best to install the JDK before installing Greenfoot.)
If you elect to use the stand alone version, you will extract the following folders from the zip file:
You will find a file named Greenfoot.exe inside the Greenfoot folder. It will have an icon of a small green footprint. Double click this file to start the Greenfoot program running.
Once the program is running, you can select the Greenfoot Tutorial item on the Help menu to open a webpage containing a variety of educational tutorials. (I will have more to say about this later.) The Help menu also provides access to several other useful items, such as documentation for both Greenfootand the Java JDK.
There is a textbook titled Introduction to Programming with Greenfoot -Object-Oriented Programming in Java with Games and Simulations that you can purchase on Amazon for about $75.00. (As usual, you can rent it for less or purchase a used copy for less.)
There are also many free online tutorials available to help you get started programming with Java and Greenfoot.
Whether you need the textbook, or whether the tutorials will suffice will depend on your background. My advice is to begin with the tutorials alone, andthen purchase the textbook if needed.
That having been said, I will comment on the textbook. If I had the luxury of designing a computer programming curriculum from scratch, I would choose a modelvery similar to the Greenfoot textbook.
In particular, unlike the programming curricula in many colleges and universities, I would begin with the big picture (classes, interfaces, objects, methods, variables, etc.) and work my way down to the more detailed aspects of programming (selection, loops, operators, types, etc.) .
(The programming curricula at many colleges and universities begin at the bottom and work their way up instead of beginning at the top and working theirway down. As a result, many students become bogged down in details and either quit or fail and never get a chance to see the big picture of object-orientedprogramming.)
Because I believe in the top down model on which the textbook is based, I can recommend this textbook as a very good way to get startedlearning computer programming in general and object-oriented programming in particular. (I am not affiliated with the author or the publisher and receive no compensationfrom the sale of this textbook.)
As of 02/19/13, the Greenfoot website provides the following written tutorials to help you learn how to use Greenfoot and begin programming:
If you prefer video tutorials, the Joy Of Code is a thorough introduction to Greenfoot broken down into a large number of videos. A wide range of other short videos are also available.
Once you become an accomplished Greenfoot programmer, you might be interested in some of the following possibilities, which generally require other resourcesor more advanced knowledge:
While this may sound like an exaggeration, programming with Greenfoot is sort of like riding a bicycle with training wheels. After awhile, you no longerneed the training wheels and you are ready to move on to true two-wheeler.
While is it possible to push Greenfoot into some pretty complex and sophisticated scenarios, there comes a time when you need to take the trainingwheels off and ride that two-wheeler.
Numerous possibilities are possible in this regard. One possibility is BlueJ - The interactive Java environment from the same folks who brought you Greenfoot. Like Greenfoot, the BlueJ software is available for free downloading. Also like Greenfoot, a textbook canbe purchased and some free tutorials are available.
Another possibility is to continue working through the modules in this collection.
A very good possibility is to do both.
This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.
Financial : Although the Connexions site makes it possible for you to download a PDF file for thismodule at no charge, and also makes it possible for you to purchase a pre-printed version of the PDF file, you should beaware that some of the HTML elements in this module may not translate well into PDF.
I also want you to know that, I receive no financial compensation from the Connexions website even if you purchase the PDF version of the module.
In the past, unknown individuals have copied my modules from cnx.org, converted them to Kindle books, and placed them for sale on Amazon.com showing me as the author. Ineither receive compensation for those sales nor do I know who does receive compensation. If you purchase such a book, please beaware that it is a copy of a module that is freely available on cnx.org and that it was made and published withoutmy prior knowledge.
Affiliation : I am a professor of Computer Information Technology at Austin Community College in Austin, TX.
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