And here I'm going to point to Bret's later writing, http://worrydream.com/#!/LearnableProgramming. It's not about the sliders it's about the understanding. A good example is the first large loop setting up the texture.
for ( var i = 1; i < 16; i++) {
var br = 255 - ((Math.random() * 96) | 0);
for ( var y = 0; y < 16 * 3; y++) {
for ( var x = 0; x < 16; x++) {
...
}
}
}
If this was a first introduction to programming it would scare off many people.
My interpretation of Bret's idea is that it would be better to have the ability to highlight the section of the texture being written by each section of the loop. It's not the sliders & live editing that are most important it's about linking abstract control into meaning within the learner.
yes - that is also my interpretation - you mouse over the canvas, and the block of code that "lead" to the bit that you "highlight" in the canvas lights up so can directly navigate from the final output back to the source code (and vice versa).
My interpretation of Bret's idea is that it would be better to have the ability to highlight the section of the texture being written by each section of the loop. It's not the sliders & live editing that are most important it's about linking abstract control into meaning within the learner.