science

Hopscotch (programming language)

Hopscotch (programming language) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hopscotch (programming language) rather than just read about it. In short: Hopscotch is a visual programming language developed by Hopscotch Technologies, designed to allow young or beginner programmers to develop simple projects. Its simple UI allows its users to drag and drop blocks to create scripts that can be played when activated.

Key takeaways

Hopscotch (programming language) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hopscotch (programming language) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hopscotch (programming language) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hopscotch is a visual programming language developed by Hopscotch Technologies, designed to allow young or beginner programmers to develop simple projects. Its simple UI allows its users to drag and drop blocks to create scripts that can be played when activated. The use of the language is through an iPad or iPhone supporting Hopscotch.

Software development The idea sprang from an existing programming tool, Scratch, where the user drags blocks to create a script. The developers of Hopscotch wanted to take a step back from Scratch, making it slightly easier to grasp and use the concepts. Hopscotch's notion of events, and rules combining conditions with actions, is similar to AgentSheets. Hopscotch includes basic programming blocks and functionalities such as variables, sprites (called objects) and text objects, as well as features considered more advanced such as self-variables, maths functions and more.

Editor

The Hopscotch app uses a block-based programming UI. Most code blocks can have numeric, text, or math inputs, allowing for both static and dynamic outputs. The editor work area is based on a grid divided into X and Y coordinates.

Editor history The Hopscotch Editor is available on iPhone and iPad. The iPhone version only supported viewing projects until early 2016, when an update supporting editing and account functionality was released. The Hopscotch iPhone projects play in an iPhone format even on the iPad and web player. A version for Android is not planned for release (as of 2021).

Event blocks Event blocks are conditional triggers that activate when a specific set of parameters is reached, triggering any associated Code blocks within the activated Event block. As of September 26, 2023, Hopscotch contains 40 Event blocks, including interactions, comparisons, and collision detection.

Code blocks Code blocks are individual actions triggered upon the activation of Event blocks, activated in descending order. Code blocks fall into six categories: Abilities, Movement, Looks & Sounds, Drawing, Variables, and Controls. Abilities are containers for Code blocks, creating a function which can be duplicated and reused within a project. Movement blocks control the positioning and rotation of objects. Looks & Sounds blocks control the scale and appearance of objects, text manipulation, sound playback, and transparency of objects. Drawing blocks paint preset colors to the background layer of a project, with additional options for stroke width and RGB/HSB support for custom colors. Variable blocks handle data storage and modification, with support for strings and numerical inputs. Control blocks provide miscellaneous functionality, such as if/else conditionals, message passing, and waiting a set amount of time.

Player

In-app player The Hopscotch player activates the blocks in the scripts upon activation of their individual triggers.

Webplayer The player is also available on the web (known as the "Webplayer"). The web player brings Hopscotch projects to almost any browser. It is designed to work the same as the in-app player, though it has a different coding layout than the app. The web version of a project is only accessible via its unique link that is formatted like this: https://c.gethopscotch.com/p/project ID Both the in-app and the web player are written in JavaScript. There is also currently a version being developed as of 2024 for easier access to Hopscotch through a computer.

Subscription Currently, there is a Hopscotch subscription. It costs $79.99 a year or $9.99 a month. The subscription allows access to adding photos or drawings, 30 “seeds” (the form of Hopscotch currency) a month, custom avatars, user variables, and more. In order to make an account, you must purchase the subscription to post or create a draft. Teacher accounts do not need the subscription, nor does signing up through the Webplayer.

Hopscotch Forum The Hopscotch Forum is the official online forum for Hopscotch, for users to discuss Hopscotch projects, programming, and view update information for changes made to the Hopscotch app. Users may also host or participate in Competitions or Events, and collaborate on projects. As of December 2024, the Hopscotch Forum has transitioned to a Discord server and placed it on read-only mode.

Languages Supported languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish.

References

External links Official website

Illustrations

Hopscotch (programming language): Hopscotch iPad player, playing project — Hopscotch iPad player, playing project

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hopscotch (programming language)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hopscotch (programming language) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hopscotch (programming language) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hopscotch (programming language) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hopscotch (programming language)

In research: Hopscotch (programming language) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hopscotch (programming language) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hopscotch (programming language) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Educational programming languages, Visual programming languages, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hopscotch (programming language) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hopscotch (programming language) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hopscotch (programming language) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hopscotch (programming language) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hopscotch (programming language) in simple terms?

Why does Hopscotch (programming language) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hopscotch (programming language)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hopscotch (programming language).