Gf0100: objects first with greenfoot

Running Greenfoot

The installed version

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.)

The stand alone version

If you elect to use the stand alone version, you will extract the following folders from the zip file:

• BlueJ (a more advanced Java programming environment)
• Greenfoot (the programming environment of interest in this module)
• jdk (the Java Development Kit)
• userhome (not sure the purpose of this folder)

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.

Textbook and tutorials

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.

The textbook

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.)

The tutorials

Written tutorials

As of 02/19/13, the Greenfoot website provides the following written tutorials to help you learn how to use Greenfoot and begin programming:

• Interacting with Greenfoot
• Movement and Key Control
• Detecting and Removing Actors, and Making Methods
• Saving the World, Making and Playing Sound
• Adding a Randomly Moving Enemy
• How to Access One Object From Another

Video tutorials

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.

Other possibilities

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:

• Kinect with Greenfoot .
• PicoBoard with Greenfoot .
• Sense Board with Greenfoot .
• Finch with Greenfoot .
• Loading native libraries with Greenfoot .
• Gamepads with Greenfoot .
• CS Unplugged with Greenfoot .
• AP Computer Science with Greenfoot .
• Learn Maths with Greenfoot

What comes next after Greenfoot

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.

Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

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