Bootstrap:Reactive Pathway

While learning a new programming language, students review the major concepts and material from Bootstrap:Algebra, including Contracts, Expressions dealing with numbers, strings and images, Variable definitions, Function definitions, and the Design Recipe.

Students discover the need for compound data — data structures — using 2-dimensional animation. They learn the syntax for data blocks, constructors and dot-accessors, and practice each by creating a “digital bakery”.

Students create a complete animation (of a sunset) from scratch, and learn how to use data structures to capture the essence of an animation. They apply the put-image function to draw single frames from data structure instances, and write a function to generate new frame data from previous frame data. They learn how to use reactors to combine their data and functions into a full running animation.

Students are introduced to conditionals using if-expressions, on both built-in data (like numbers) and on programmer-defined data structures. They then use conditionals to implement an animation that goes through distinct phases. They also learn about helper functions, which abstract away frequently-used code to improve readability and reduce duplication.

Students are introduced to another type of event, called on-key. They define a key-event handler that modifies a reactor state to move a character when certain keys are pressed. To handle multiple possible keys, students return to the subject of piecewise functions, giving them more practice with Pyret’s if expressions.

Beginning with a working program, students refactor the code to be more readable, and practice using drawing functions in Pyret

Starting with a bare-bones reactor, students brainstorm possible animations, and write their own draw-state functions

Students create a game of their own design using what they have learned so far.

Using what they know from Bootstrap:Algebra, students write a distance function and collision detection function to handle collisions in their games, this time using the Data Structures and Reactor from their games.

Students extend their State structure to include a score, then modify their game code to change and display that score.

Students parameterize other parts of their game, so that the experience changes as the score increases. This track delves deeper into conditionals and abstraction, offering students a chance to customize their games further while applying those concepts.

Students use the Animation Design Worksheet to decompose a 2-player game of Pong, and implement it in Pyret.

Students refactor code from a simple animation to include structures within structures, and see how to use nested structures in their own games and animations to manage complexity.

Students parameterize other parts of their game, so that the experience changes as a new data field, a timer, changes. This track delves deeper into conditionals and abstraction, offering students two possible uses for a timer feature, and a chance to customize their games further while applying those concepts.

This is a single page that contains all the lessons listed above.