Code.org Programming Language Confirmation

CS Principles AP Prep
1

Hello,
My understanding has been that students have been using JavaScript when programming in Code Studio. When submitting the Create PT as Final, students must indicate the programming language they used. Can you please confirm for me that the language is JavaScript?

I ask because one of my students is saying:
“The programming language used in Code Studio’s App Lab is very similar to JavaScript, however it is not exactly the same. With this difference, is it appropriate to label my source code as JavaScript, or should I label it as some other language?”

Thank you for your help!

2

Hello l.reichard,

Applab and Gamelab run on Javascript, but do not have access to DOM, meaning they can not use functions such as:

.innerHTML
document.getElementById();
.style

Code.org’s Gamelab, and Applab run on javascript, but some functions are NOT supported.

3

App Lab uses an independently created Javascript interpreter that was never intended to be a full ECMAScript implementation. That interpreter is based on the ES5 version released in 2009. Javascript has changed in many ways since 2009 while App Lab has not.

Javascript has a unique property that sets it apart from other languages. Code is always forwards compatible. I would say that App Lab is a subset of modern Javascript and can be called Javascript. Though I have begun to call it App Lab myself when there is a need to be specific.

4

I told all my kids to use App Lab because it has some built in functions that interface with the UI like setText and getText, and other functions like appendItem and randomNumber that aren’t just plain JavaScript functions.