Karel The Robot
A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming
2. Edition October 1994
176 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
KAREL The Robot teaches students the fundamental concepts and skills of programming, quickly and easily. By emphasizing logic and structure over calculation, it provides a nonthreatening introduction to the central ideas in programming.
This widely praised guide begins by introducing KAREL, a literal-minded robot whos built-in capabilities allow him to explore his world and manipulate simple objects in it. Once students learn the details of KAREL's deceptively simple programming language, they will soon be designing well-structured programs that instruct KAREL to perform surprisingly complex tasks. Along the way students will be absorbing sophisticated programming concepts that will enhance their programming ability.
* Primitive Instructions and Simple Programs
* Extending Karel's Vocabulary
* Conditionally Executing Instructions
* Instructions that Repeat
* Advanced Techniques for Karel
* Appendix
Technical Term Index
Instruction Index
programming concepts that I have seen."
--Tim Thurman, University of Kansas
"I first used this language in 1981 as a student. I found it to
be stimulating and challenging. In 1984 I began using Karel as a
teacher. Since 1984 I have used Karel every term except one. That
term represented an experiment to see how students would do without
using Karel. I was not satisfied; the students performed poorly
relative to those who used Karel."
--Peter Casey, Central Oregon Community College
"There are no bits, no bytes or bugaboos to intimidate new minds
to computers. Pattis et al. have done a wonderful job in assembling
a simple little robot, giving it a little language to understand,
giving it a little world to wander about in, and finally giving it
to [us] so that we can all play and learn in Karel's world."
--Billibon H. Yoshimi, Columbia University
