Kids’ Coding Languages

Today, computers play a significant role in everyday life. It is already a necessity in several aspects of business and engineering. This necessitates learning some degree of coding to stay ahead of the competition.

Those who have the edge over the others in knowing some basic coding will find it easier to get good jobs. That is why there is a considerable rush among parents to prepare their children for this inevitable future.

Parents are on the lookout for the easiest programming language to start their kids off a journey of considerable fun, excitement, and mental stimulation. While there are many easy programming languages, you will find a list of 7 Kids coding languages suitable for children in the age group 8-16 in this article.

Children can first start with some kids programming language before moving on to other more challenging languages. Learning some fundamental languages will help them migrate to more complex languages when they enter college and postgraduate levels.

What is Coding?

Coding is "using any computer programming language to develop a computer program".

What is the need to develop computer programs? Computer programs help to accomplish several tasks, like the web browser you are using now. It is also necessary for other applications like MS Office and operating systems like WIndows.

From finance, medicine, engineering, aviation, computers have taken over almost every aspect of our lives.

How can humans communicate with a machine and get it to perform tasks for them?

That is the magic of computer programming!

Use some of the easiest programming language around and start your children on the coding trail where they will be inspired and thoroughly entertained.

1. Java

Java is one of the easiest programming languages that children will first learn in school. Most schools begin teaching coding with either C or C++ and then move on to Java. This language is a high-level language with ideas such as abstraction of data and functions. Is it easier to use the language to communicate with the computer.

Java is also a platform-independent language which makes the portability of code across operating system platforms like Linux or Windows easy. But the number one reason to opt for Java is its introduction to the world of object-oriented programming. Object-oriented programming is the concept that powers most of the internet, so it is useful to get the hang of it through Java. Java is used extensively in client-server applications.

Here is a sample code written in Java to check if a number is prime or not.

public class Main 

{

  public static void main(String[] args) 

{

    int number = 89;

    boolean flaged = false;

    for (int j = 2; j <= number / 2; ++j)

{

      if (number % j == 0) {

        flaged = true;

        break;

 }

    }

    if (flaged==false)

      System.out.println(number + " is prime");

    else

      System.out.println(number + " is not prime");

  }

}

2. Python

Python is the most straightforward language to pick up and write code in since the language emphasizes code readability. It takes only a couple of days to learn so kids can pick it up quickly. Python is also the kids coding languages of choice when it comes to a language for writing games.

Python is ideally suited to make small, fun arcade games thanks to its Graphical User Interface. The language is open source, so expect many users to be programming in it and helping to develop the many libraries.  Use this easiest programming language and get started developing games!

Here is the same program of checking prime numbers. Compare with the above code in Java and see which is easier to use. Choose accordingly.

number = 89

if number > 1:

   # check for factors

   for i in range(2,number):

       if (number % i) == 0:

           print(number,"is not prime”)

           break

   else:

       print(number,"is prime")

else:

   print(number,"is not prime")

3. Ruby

Another pure object-oriented language is Ruby. What makes it a great kids programming language is the expressive nature of the language. There are close to 42 keywords that supplement the language and make expressing challenging concepts easy.

Ruby's inventor was a big fan of object-oriented programming and wanted something that was exclusively object-oriented. Not finding any, he set about creating his own. Today the language is used in creating web applications, data analysis and prototyping.

Here is the same prime number check program that you can peruse and check if it is easy to use or not.

puts "Enter the number to check for prime":

number = gets.chomp.to_i

count=0

if (number==0)

puts "0 is not a  prime number."

else

j=2

while(j<number)

if (number%j==0)

count+=1

end

j+=1

end

end

if count>1

puts "#{number} is not prime"

else

puts "#{number} is prime"

end

4. JavaScript

JavaScript was one of three languages used to build the internet. It is still important today to create interactive web sites. Children can be introduced to this language for practical reasons. It will help them in their career if they decide to become computer engineers.

Building web sites will always be in demand, and today’s sites require robustness from their websites. JavaScript is a perfect kids programming language to introduce children to the complexities of website building. Here is the same prime number program in JavaScript.

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html>

<head>

    <title>

        Check whether a number is Prime or 

        not.

    </title>

    <script type="text/javascript">      

        // Function to check prime number 

        function prime_checker() {

            var num, i, flag = true; 

            num = document.myform.n.value; 

            num = parseInt(num) 

            for(i = 2; i <= num - 1; i++) 

                if (num % i == 0) { 

                    flag = false; 

                    break; 

                } 

            if (flag == true) 

                alert(num + " is prime."); 

            else

                alert(num + " is not prime."); 

        } 

    </script> 

</head>

<body> 

    <center> 

        <h1>Vedantu</h1>

        <h4>check whether the number is prime or not</h4>

        <hr color="Yellow">

        <form name="myform"> 

            Enter the number: 

            <input type="text" name=n value="">

            <br><br>

            <input type="button" value="Check" onClick="p()"> 

            <br> 

        </form> 

    </center> 

</body>

</html>

5. Scratch

Scratch is a visual programming language. What this means is that users can program by dragging and dropping code elements rather than by typing out the code. Scratch is MIT's offering to the coding world. It is aimed at an age group of 8-16.

The interface is colourful, engaging and attractive for kids to use. One of the easiest programming languages around, use Scratch if your kid does not want to enter application based programming as yet.

6. C++

Very similar to Java, C++ is a kids programming language that you can introduce teenagers with. The language is also used widely for developing games so children will take to it quickly. While C++ does support object-oriented programming, it began as a procedural language. Do not start children younger than fourteen onto C++ as they will fail to grasp the finer points about pointers which is a programming construct useful in C++.

Here is the same program of checking if a number is prime or not.

1. #include <iostream>

2. using namespace std;

3. int main()

4. {  

5. int num, i, m=0, flag=0;  

6. cout << "Enter the number: ";  

7. cin >> number;  

8. m=number/2;  

9. for(j = 2;j <= m; i++)  

10. {  

11. if(number % j == 0)  

12.       {  

13.           cout<<"The entered number is not prime."<<endl;  

14.           flag=1;  

15.           break;  

16.       }  

17.   }  

18.   if (flag==0)  

19.       cout << "The entered number is prime."<<endl;  

20.   return 0;  

21. }   

7. Lua

Lua is a scripting language that is used widely in writing video games as well as in stand-alone web applications. Kids coding languages like Lua help to develop the critical as well as logical skills of your child. The language tends to support the expression of ideas more coherently than other programming counterparts. With Lua, you can write applications that are easy to embed into other languages such as C and C++.

Here is the same prime number code in Lua.

1. print("Enter number to check for prime.")

2. local number = io.read("*num")

3. function prime(num)

4. for i = 2, num^(1/2) do

5. if (num % i) == 0 then

6. return false

7. end

8. return true

9. end

10. end

11. if prime(number) == true then

12. print("The  number you entered is prime.")

13. end

14. if prime(number) == false then

15. print("The number you entered is not prime.")

16. end

We hope that with these kids coding languages, your child will be helped on the journey to becoming a successful computer programmer. Choose whichever language is more suited to your kid's thinking pattern and begin with it.