Karel the Robot

Karel the Robot teaches you the fundamental concepts and skills of programming - quickly and easily! By emphasizing logic and structure over calculation, it provides a nonthreatening introduction to the central ideas in programming - the same ideas that apply to all computer programming languages. This widely-praised guide begins by introducing KAREL, a literal-minded robot whose built-in capabilities allow him to explore his world and manipulate simple objects in it. It then introduces KAREL's programming language (a block-structured language similar to Pascal), which emphasizes logical deduction and spatial reasoning rather than calculation and algebraic reasoning. Once you learn the details of KAREL's deceptively simple programming language, you will soon be designing well-structured programs that instruct KAREL to perform surprisingly complex tasks. Along the way, you will be absorbing sophisticated programming concepts that will enhance your programming ability! A software simulator for KAREL's programming language and world is available on a wide variety of mainframes and microcomputers - details inside.