Sugar-Coated Digital Fruits — The Bittersweet of Using Blockly from Google

Sugar-Coated Digital Fruits — The Bittersweet of Using Blockly from Google

Blockly is a web library that allows you to add a block-based code editor to your app. The editor uses puzzle-piece-like blocks to represent coding concepts such as variables, logical expressions, loops, and more. It enables users to program without worrying about syntax or the complexities of a command-line interface.

Breaking it down, Blockly can be thought of in two ways:

  1. A Fun Puzzle-Piece UI: You define the puzzle connections and input fields, and Blockly handles the rendering, dragging, and connecting.
  2. A Fancy String Builder: You define the code that each block generates, and Blockly concatenates these blocks into complete strings of code. The output can be used in a variety of ways—from solving mazes to animating characters or analyzing data.

Blockly lets you focus on applying these blocks to your domain without dealing with the complexities of how blocks are rendered, dragged, or connected.

Educational Use Cases

  • Transitioning students toward text-based programming.
  • Encouraging computational thinking.
  • Exploring concepts like physics through a computational lens.

Industry Use Cases

  • Data analysis and cleaning.
  • Automation, e.g., robotics and process workflows.
  • Configuration, e.g., in online shops or IoT systems.

Strengths of Blockly

  • Availability: Published on NPM, you can require Blockly like any other web dependency.
  • Fully featured: Blockly comes with common blocks that generate code in five popular programming languages (JavaScript, Python, Lua, Dart, and PHP). Its plugin ecosystem also expands its functionality.
  • Customizability: Easily define your own blocks, fields, and inputs. Many core functionalities can be customized to fit your needs.
  • Internationalization: Blockly supports 90+ languages, including right-to-left versions for Arabic and Hebrew.
  • Open Source: Google shares Blockly's technology freely to help educate the next generation of developers.

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