BYOB

BYOB (Build Your Own Blocks) is an educational piece of software aimed mainly at students, in the attempt help them learn basic notions of computer programming, using blocks as rules and conditions.

The application is based on Scratch, but is designed for a more mature audience, including the general public, as it features a user-friendly interface and very simple functions.

BYOB makes use of 'Sprites' as characters in the stories or scripts you create. The default 'Costume' can be customized or you can draw it yourself. Also, the utility offers an extensive library of 'Costumes' for your 'Sprite', so you can choose one you like from the available options. You can even work with multiple characters at the same time.

BYOB features several categories of building blocks, namely 'Motion', 'Looks', 'Sound', 'Pen', 'Control', 'Sensing', 'Operators' and 'Variables', each one containing multiple color-coded elements which can be used in combination to create fun or interactive scenarios.

From the 'Motion' section, you can have your 'Sprite' move for a user-defined number of steps, turn 30 degrees for instance, go to a certain point or in a specific direction. The 'Looks' button allows you to switch 'Costumes' within the scenario, speak or think, while the 'Sounds' enables your character to play a sound, a note or an instrument.

The 'Control' tab contains various condition blocks, such as 'Wait 1 Sec', 'Repeat', 'If, Else', 'Wait Until', 'Stop All', 'Run' or 'Launch', allowing you to integrate other elements into the script. Similarly, from the 'Operators' section, you can insert simple mathematical operations for instance. When you are done, you can save and run your scenario, to see what you have managed to create.

BYOB is an interesting tool that enables you to learn how to create simple programming scripts using nothing other than building blocks and your imagination.