Debian Junior Project
Summary
Programming
Debian Jr. programming

The emphasis for this sampling of programming packages for children is first on simple interpreted languages. Also important for using languages with children are good documentation, and some ability to produce visual programs without too much effort. It is by no means a complete list, and you are encouraged to explore other languages with children as well, even those children.

The Logo language is specifically designed for children, with a strong emphasis on the visual and concrete. Littlewizard is an icon-based graphical programming language also designed for children.

The list to the right includes various software projects which are of some interest to the Debian Junior Project. Currently, only a few of them are available as Debian packages. It is our goal, however, to include all software in Debian Junior which can sensibly add to a high quality Debian Pure Blend.

For a better overview of the project's availability as a Debian package, each head row has a color code according to this scheme:

If you discover a project which looks like a good candidate for Debian Junior to you, or if you have prepared an unofficial Debian package, please do not hesitate to send a description of that project to the Debian Junior mailing list

Links to other tasks

Debian Junior Programming packages

Official Debian packages with high relevance

Gvrng
Interactive, introductory programming language
Maintainer: Sergio Talens-Oliag
Versions of package gvrng
ReleaseVersionArchitectures
squeeze4.1-1all
wheezy4.4-1all
jessie4.4-1all
sid4.4-1all
Debtags of package gvrng:
develinterpreter
fieldmathematics
gamepuzzle
interfacex11
roleprogram
uitoolkitgtk
uselearning, gameplaying
x11application
Popcon: 16 users (14 upd.)*
Versions and Archs
License: DFSG free

Guido van Robot Next Generation (GvRng) is a project developed by advanced high school students for use by their peers as a learning tool and precursor to the further study of programming with Python. It is a minimalistic programming language providing just enough syntax to help students learn the concepts of sequencing, conditional branching, looping and procedural abstraction.

It's biggest strength is that it permits this learning in an environment that combines the thrill of problem-solving with instant visual feedback. In short, it is an interactive, introductory programming language that is excellent for learning the basic concepts of programming, applicable in any high-level language.

The GvRng version replaces the old GvR program that used wxPython for the GUI.

Kturtle
educational programming environment
Versions of package kturtle
ReleaseVersionArchitectures
squeeze4.4.5-2amd64,armel,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,sparc
wheezy4.8.4-1amd64,armel,armhf,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,s390x,sparc
jessie4.8.4-1amd64,armel,armhf,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,s390x,sparc
sid4.8.4-1amd64,armel,armhf,hurd-i386,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,s390x,sparc
experimental4.10.2-1mipsel,sparc
experimental4.10.4-1amd64,armhf,hurd-i386,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,powerpc,s390,s390x
Debtags of package kturtle:
develide
fieldmathematics
interfacex11
roleprogram
scopeutility
suitekde
uitoolkitqt
uselearning
x11application
Popcon: 554 users (835 upd.)*
Versions and Archs
License: DFSG free
Git

KTurtle is an educational programming environment which uses the TurtleScript programming language (inspired by Logo) to make programming as easy and accessible as possible.

The user issues TurtleScript language commands to control the "turtle", which draws on the canvas, making KTurtle suitable for teaching elementary mathematics, geometry and programming.

This package is part of the KDE education module.

Screenshots of package kturtle
Laby
Learn how to program with ants and spider webs
Versions of package laby
ReleaseVersionArchitectures
squeeze0.5.5-1amd64,armel,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,sparc
wheezy0.6.3-1amd64,armel,armhf,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,s390x,sparc
jessie0.6.3-1amd64,armel,armhf,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,s390x,sparc
sid0.6.3-1amd64,armel,armhf,hurd-i386,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,s390x,sparc
Debtags of package laby:
devellang:ocaml, lang:java, lang:c
fieldmathematics
interfacex11
roleprogram
uitoolkitgtk
uselearning, gameplaying
Popcon: 15 users (4 upd.)*
Versions and Archs
License: DFSG free
Git

Laby is a small program to learn how to program with ants and spider webs. You have to move an ant out of a labyrinth, avoid spider webs, move rocks, etc.

Using Laby, you can learn OCaml, C and Java. Other bindings can be added later to support new programming languages.

Screenshots of package laby
Littlewizard
development environment for children
Maintainer: Kari Pahula
Versions of package littlewizard
ReleaseVersionArchitectures
squeeze1.2.0~rc2-2amd64,armel,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,sparc
wheezy1.2.2-1amd64,armel,armhf,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,s390x,sparc
jessie1.2.2-1amd64,armel,armhf,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,s390x,sparc
sid1.2.2-1amd64,armel,armhf,hurd-i386,i386,ia64,kfreebsd-amd64,kfreebsd-i386,mips,mipsel,powerpc,s390,s390x,sparc
Debtags of package littlewizard:
develinterpreter
fieldmathematics
interfacex11
roleprogram
uitoolkitgtk
uselearning
x11application
Popcon: 27 users (19 upd.)*
Versions and Archs
License: DFSG free

Little Wizard is created especially for primary school children. It introduces main elements of present computer languages, including: variables, expressions, loops, conditions, logical blocks. Every element of language is represented by an intuitive icon. Little Wizard can be programmed without using keyboard, only mouse.

Screenshots of package littlewizard
*Popularitycontest results: number of people who use this package regularly (number of people who upgraded this package recently) out of 151825