Who is Karel the Robot?

Karel is a classical educational programming language. It was created by Richard E. Pattis (Karel The Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming, J. Wiley & Sons, 1981). The original Karel language was inspired by Pascal. This was a major programming language of the 1980s and 1990s. Pascal is still used on a limited basis today. Visit Karel’s Wikipedia page for more information. Recently, the Karel language was revised and updated by the NCLab Team to be closer to Python. Python is a major programming language of modern engineering and science. The main ideas of the language remained the same. R.E. Pattis generously agreed that his original name “Karel” can be used for the updated language as well.

What Does Karel Coding Teach?

In the Karel course you will solve puzzles by writing simple programs for a robot. The language has Python code formatting and some Python keywords. It is free of colons, semicolons, commas, decimal points, parentheses and other features. These features are known to cause frustration to beginners. The simplicity of the syntax will allow you to focus on the programming logic. Karel provides instant visual feedback. If you make a mistake, then the robot goes astray, hits a wall, or does something funny. You will learn how to use the repeat loop and if-else conditions. Also the while loop, custom commands, variables, functions, Python lists, and recursion. Karel will help you get ready for a seamless transition to Python programming.

Lesson Plan in Karel Coding

Solution Manuals for Karel Coding

Karel Commands in Karel Coding