Java Help for my son.

[JackReeve]

I apologise if this is in the wrong section, but I have an autistic son that’s trying to learn coding for his favourite game, minecraft. He’s tried learning Java but finds it stressful and annoying the way it is. However I remember him being quite good at scratch as he was able to make bits of code with blocks and have them colour coded. Is there there something I can use to convert Java into blocks of code, and then have the text form on the other side so he can paste it straight into his coding thing (IDE?)?
Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you for your time.

 

[Hassapiko]

Hello there.

Unfortunately, to my knowledge, there is no program that can convert regular code into code blocks - that goes for any language, not just Java.

What is it that your son finds stressful about learning Java? Is it classes/objects? The syntax? The tools that you use for it(compiler, IDE/text-editor, etc)? Asking him about this stuff helps you understand the situation better and will help you work on helping him learn it. It's important to note that Java is a gigantic step up from Scratch: it's object-oriented(which is more complicated than any procedural-language) and has a somewhat complicated syntax(i.e. in the middle between a simpler language like Python and a complex language like C++).

In the event that even after talking to your son and helping him that he still cannot learn and understand Java(or any computer-science concepts for that matter), I'd recommend stepping down to something simpler(but not Scratch). Give Python or Lua a try and see what happens then. They contain a simpler syntax and are easier to learn and work with. Although neither language is used in Minecraft, there will be language-bindings/mods that allow support for them in Minecraft. For other games, Lua is supported in Roblox and GMod - both are quite popular. Python is less used for games, so you might have trouble trying to find a game to put it to use in(but your son could always build his own game).

I hope this helps.

 

[Mutiny]

It looks like Microsoft has a product called MakeCode that is a block-like code editor similar to Scratch, but compatible with Minecraft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/code-minecraft/

 

[JackReeve]

Hello there.

Unfortunately, to my knowledge, there is no program that can convert regular code into code blocks - that goes for any language, not just Java.

What is it that your son finds stressful about learning Java? Is it classes/objects? The syntax? The tools that you use for it(compiler, IDE/text-editor, etc)? Asking him about this stuff helps you understand the situation better and will help you work on helping him learn it. It's important to note that Java is a gigantic step up from Scratch: it's object-oriented(which is more complicated than any procedural-language) and has a somewhat complicated syntax(i.e. in the middle between a simpler language like Python and a complex language like C++).

In the event that even after talking to your son and helping him that he still cannot learn and understand Java(or any computer-science concepts for that matter), I'd recommend stepping down to something simpler(but not Scratch). Give Python or Lua a try and see what happens then. They contain a simpler syntax and are easier to learn and work with. Although neither language is used in Minecraft, there will be language-bindings/mods that allow support for them in Minecraft. For other games, Lua is supported in Roblox and GMod - both are quite popular. Python is less used for games, so you might have trouble trying to find a game to put it to use in(but your son could always build his own game).

I hope this helps.

It looks like Microsoft has a product called MakeCode that is a block-like code editor similar to Scratch, but compatible with Minecraft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/code-minecraft/

Thank you to both of you. This has truly helped!

 

[Lexxxis]

I apologise if this is in the wrong section, but I have an autistic son that’s trying to learn coding for his favourite game, minecraft. He’s tried learning Java but finds it stressful and annoying the way it is. However I remember him being quite good at scratch as he was able to make bits of code with blocks and have them colour coded. Is there there something I can use to convert Java into blocks of code, and then have the text form on the other side so he can paste it straight into his coding thing (IDE?)?
Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you for your time.

Hi JackReeve!
I wonder if you need some extra help with this issue? I had a similar experience in my family, so hopefully, it can come in handy.
Can you share more details regarding what causes stress to your son in Java? Does he find it difficult or the special part of it like syntax, for instance?
Maybe it's worth trying to learn programming in a game-based way.