StarLogo
Encyclopedia
StarLogo is an agent-based simulation language
developed by Mitchel Resnick
, Eric Klopfer, and others at MIT Media Lab
and MIT Teacher Education Program in Massachusetts
. It is an extension of the Logo
programming
language
, a dialect
of Lisp. Designed for education
, StarLogo can be used by students to model the behavior of decentralized systems.
The first StarLogo ran on a Connection Machine
2 parallel computer. A subsequent version ran on Macintosh computers; this version became known later as MacStarLogo (and now is called MacStarLogo Classic). The current StarLogo is written in Java
and works on most computers.
StarLogo is also available in a version called OpenStarLogo. The source code for OpenStarLogo is available online, although the license under which it is released is not an open source license according to the Open Source Definition
, because of restrictions on the commercial use of the code.
StarLogo TNG (The Next Generation) version 1.0 was released in July 2008. It provides a 3D world using OpenGL graphics and a block-based graphical language to increase ease of use and learnability. It is written in C and Java. StarLogo TNG uses "blocks" to put together like puzzle pieces. StarLogo TNG reads the blocks in the order you fit them together, and sets the program in the Spaceland view.
StarLogo is a primary influence for the Kedama particle system, programmed by Yoshiki Oshima, found in the Etoys
educational programming environment and language, which can be viewed as a Logo done originally in Squeak
Smalltalk
.
Simulation language
A computer simulation language describes the operation of a simulation on a computer. There are two major types of simulation: continuous and discrete event though more modern languages can handle combinations. Most languages also have a graphical interface and at least simple statistical gathering...
developed by Mitchel Resnick
Mitchel Resnick
Mitchel Resnick is LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research, Director of the Okawa Center, and Director of the at the MIT Media Lab. Resnick currently serves as the head of the Media Arts and Sciences academic program, the academic program that grants master's degrees and Ph.Ds at the MIT Media...
, Eric Klopfer, and others at MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
and MIT Teacher Education Program in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. It is an extension of the Logo
Logo (programming language)
Logo is a multi-paradigm computer programming language used in education. It is an adaptation and dialect of the Lisp language; some have called it Lisp without the parentheses. It was originally conceived and written as functional programming language, and drove a mechanical turtle as an output...
programming
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
, a dialect
Programming language dialect
A dialect of a programming language is a variation or extension of the language that does not change its intrinsic nature. With languages such as Scheme and Forth, standards may be considered insufficient, inadequate or even illegitimate by implementors, so often they will deviate from the...
of Lisp. Designed for education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, StarLogo can be used by students to model the behavior of decentralized systems.
The first StarLogo ran on a Connection Machine
Connection Machine
The Connection Machine was a series of supercomputers that grew out of Danny Hillis' research in the early 1980s at MIT on alternatives to the traditional von Neumann architecture of computation...
2 parallel computer. A subsequent version ran on Macintosh computers; this version became known later as MacStarLogo (and now is called MacStarLogo Classic). The current StarLogo is written in Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
and works on most computers.
StarLogo is also available in a version called OpenStarLogo. The source code for OpenStarLogo is available online, although the license under which it is released is not an open source license according to the Open Source Definition
Open Source Definition
The Open Source Definition is a document published by the Open Source Initiative, to determine whether or not a software license can be labeled with the open-source certification mark....
, because of restrictions on the commercial use of the code.
StarLogo TNG (The Next Generation) version 1.0 was released in July 2008. It provides a 3D world using OpenGL graphics and a block-based graphical language to increase ease of use and learnability. It is written in C and Java. StarLogo TNG uses "blocks" to put together like puzzle pieces. StarLogo TNG reads the blocks in the order you fit them together, and sets the program in the Spaceland view.
StarLogo is a primary influence for the Kedama particle system, programmed by Yoshiki Oshima, found in the Etoys
EToys (Programming Language)
Etoys is a child-friendly computer environment and object-oriented prototype-based programming language for use in education.Etoys is a media-rich authoring environment with a scripted object model for many different objects that runs on different platforms and is free and open source.- Brief...
educational programming environment and language, which can be viewed as a Logo done originally in Squeak
Squeak
The Squeak programming language is a Smalltalk implementation. It is object-oriented, class-based and reflective.It was derived directly from Smalltalk-80 by a group at Apple Computer that included some of the original Smalltalk-80 developers...
Smalltalk
Smalltalk
Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. Smalltalk was created as the language to underpin the "new world" of computing exemplified by "human–computer symbiosis." It was designed and created in part for educational use, more so for constructionist...
.