EasyCode Pillars

DATA TYPES

Students need to be aware of 4 data types:

• String ➔ “this is a string” ; you can use either single quotes ‘ ‘ or double quotes ” “
• Integer ➔ 12 ; an integer is a whole number, such as 12, 0 or -4
• Float ➔ 3.14 ; a float​ is any number with decimals
• Boolean ➔ True ; note True and False require a capital T or capital F

Colors in the Codesters text editor are related to type:

• “strings are green”
• numbers like 12 or 3.14 are blue
• Booleans like True and False are red
• variable names are orange
• everything else is white including functions, classes, punctuation, and reserved words

MATH AND RANDOM (see the Math section of the Toolkit for more)

6 + 3  ➔ 9 + addition

6 – 3 ➔ 3  –​ subtraction

6 * 3 ➔ 18 * multiplication

6 / 3 ➔ 2 / division

7 % 3 ➔ 1 % remainder (modulo)

6 ** 3 ➔ 196 **​ exponent

random.randint(1, 10) ➔ creates a random integer​ between 1 and 10

random.rand() ➔ creates a random float​ (decimal) between 0 and 1

“Hello” + ” world!” ➔ Hello world! +​combine two strings

“I am “ + str(13) ➔ I am 13  str( )​ when combining a string and an integer with +

VARIABLES

Variables let you store a piece of data to use later. This data can also change over the course of a program, so it’s useful for keeping track of things like scores. To create a variable, just type the name of the variable followed by an equals sign and a value. For example:

• fav_class = “coding”
• score = 14

3 rules for naming variables:

1) Do not put variable names in quotes

2) Variable names cannot contain spaces, use underscores _ instead

3) Variable names cannot begin with numbers

For Example:

• “result” = 12 ; must be ➔ result = 12
• my name = “Codesters” ; must be ➔ my_name = “Codesters”
• 3rd_example = True ; must be ➔ third_example = True

BLOCKS (If statements, Loops, Functions, and Events)

If Statements​ let you execute or skip a group of commands depending on whether the condition you provide is true or false.

• For example – this tests whether you guess the correct answer “blue”.

• You can use the following comparisons and logical operations:

==   equal   !=   not equal

>   greater than   >=   greater than or equal to

<   less than   <=   less than or equal to

and      or

Loops​ let you execute a group of commands multiple times.

• For example – this tells the sprite to count to 5.

• For example – this tells the sprite to say the each letter in “Codesters”.

Functions​ let you create a group of commands that you can run later.

• For example, this function squares a number, says the square, then returns the result.

Events ​let you create a group of commands that will run when certain things happen on the stage, or the user presses a particular button.

Whitespace and formatting blocks

• Python is very​ particular about whitespace. All code inside of these blocks must be indented four spaces.
• Codesters will highlight the whitespace in these blocks. If your highlighting is missing, check your whitespace.
• The first line of all these blocks always ends in a colon.