bromagosa
Joined 15 years ago
Karma
474
Submissions
237
Member since
Mar 3
Smalltalker from Barcelona.
View on Hacker NewsRecent submissions
Comment · 6 years ago
Yup, totally. Power feature discoverability is not where we shine... :p
Comment · 6 years ago
Yes, I totally agree that the website needs to make the important aspects apparent right away :)
We've been basically focused on finalizing the last details before launching beta, but reworking the website is on our list of urgent tasks, possibly even before the launch, who knows!
Comment · 6 years ago
In Snap!, GP and MicroBlocks there's a pretty powerful keyboard interface to assemble blocks. I use it all the time instead of dragging blocks. Check out page 115 of the Snap! reference manual here: https://snap.berkeley.edu/snap/help/SnapManual.pdf
Jens Mönig implemented keyboard input for both GP and Snap!, so the same hotkeys will work on both. Since we're using GP for the MicroBlocks GUI, the same will also work on MicroBlocks.
Comment · 6 years ago
Hi Avi! Let me first say that my final project at university was about Seaside, and that project landed me a Smalltalk job that marked the beginning of my professional life as a developer. I can't thank you enough!
Regarding Teensy boards, it would have to be version >3.0, because MicroBlocks uses 32 bit instructions and needs at least 16kb of RAM. The Teensy 3.0 just about meets the requirements, and 3.1 exceeds them comfortably.
We don't yet support any M4 MCUs, but we do support a couple of M0s, so I think porting the VM to the Teensy should be fairly easy. I don't currently have one, but I see they're cheap, so I'm going to order one and try to find some time to work on the port :)
If you'd like to, we can continue the discussion over email at interest (at) microblocks (dot) fun.
Comment · 6 years ago
Actually, there are no similar projects that I can tell of. MakeCode, the "one that comes with the micro:bit", as you say, is not a live language and only works for a couple of boards. It's not even a language, it's a façade for an underlying text language.
To sum up what's different about MicroBlocks:
* It is blocks based.
* It is live. That means you can change scripts in real time while they're running. You can see the result of running any block in real time. You don't have to wait for any compilation/upload cycles.
* It is autonomous. You can disconnect the board at any point, and the program will keep running in it.
* It is parallel. You can run multiple tasks at the same time.
* It is portable. It runs in several boards thanks to our VM approach.
There was no language that did all these, so we made our own :)
Comment · 6 years ago
Glad to see MicroBlocks on the front page of HN!
I'm one of the project devs. Feel free to AMA :)
Comment · 8 years ago
microblocks.fun is still in Alpha, but check it out nevertheless! It works on lots of 32 bit microcontrollers.
It's been tested on the micro:bit, circuit playground express, calliope and several Arduinos.
Comment · 12 years ago
Great! Congratulations on the web redesign as well!
Comment · 12 years ago
Nope, you need to have contents in Catalan in your .cat site, not for six months but forever. I couldn't find this 6-months clause anywhere, and the terms don't mention it at all: http://fundacio.cat/ca/domini/sobre-el-cat/normativa
Furthermore, they clearly say that violation of the only usage restriction (contents in Catalan) can result in your domain being suspended.
edit: Just a little correction to your text in Catalan: L'idioma català és una llengua bonica. ;)