Glossary of Terms

This glossary contains the definitions of terms used throughout this KookaBlockly Reference Guide and is intended to demystify the vocabulary often used in association with computers and software.

Kookaberry

The Kookaberry is a microcomputer specifically designed for STEM educational applications. See https://learn.auststem.com.au/exploring-the-kookaberry/

KookaSuite

A suite of programming tools for the Kookaberry comprising KookaBlockly visual coding tool, KookaIDE a MicroPython integrated development tool, and KookaTW a tool for mirroring / virtualising the Kookaberry’s display and buttons.

Visual Code Editor

A visual code editor allows users to work with code visually but still involves actual code blocks or snippets. It might use drag-and-drop interfaces, code blocks, or other visual elements to assist in code creation. Visual code editors often aim to make coding more accessible to beginners or those who are not familiar with traditional text-based coding environments. It differs from a graphical code editor that may involve more abstract graphical representations of code structures, while visual code editors usually retain a connection to the actual code, using visual elements to enhance the coding experience. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_programming_language

OLED

Organic Light Emitting Diode - the lighting technology that is used in the Kookaberry’s display - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED

LED

Light Emitting Diode - a semiconductor that emits a specific wavelength of light when energised. The Kookaberry has three LEDs on the front under the display. They emit red, yellow and green light. There are two further LEDs on the back: a green LED indicating the Kookaberry has power, and a blue LED which indicates file writing activity, or if pulsing slowly indicates the Kookaberry’s power supply voltage is low. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode

GPIO

General Purpose Input and Output - the electrical signals to and from a microcomputer are connected by these, and are referred to as Pins by KookaBlockly. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General-purpose_input/output

USB

Universal Serial Bus - a communications and power connection used by the Kookaberry to communicate with the programming personal computer, and the receive power. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB.

MicroPython

A variant of the computer programming language Python developed for use on micro-computers. The Kookaberry is programmed using MicroPython and has a built-in compiler accessible through editors such as KookaIDE and Thonny. KookaBlockly automatically generates MicroPython code when the user assembles a script from KookaBlockly’s visual blocks. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicroPython

Python

A high-level computer programming language that was designed to be easy to use and easily comprehended. It nonetheless is a very powerful language and is now favoured by educational institutions as the first-taught computer language. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)

IDE

Integrated Development Environment - a software application that integrates code editing, testing and sometimes code debugging tools. Examples relevant to KookaBlockly and the Kookaberry are KookaIDE and Thonny. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_development_environment

STEM

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - an umbrella term to group these disciplines in the context of education and career development. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics

Raspberry Pi Pico

A microcomputer developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation based on their RP2040 microprocessor chip. The RP2040 microprocessor chip is used in later hardware versions of the Kookaberry. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi

STM

STMicroelectronics N.V. commonly referred to as ST or STMicro is a multinational corporation and technology company of French-Italian origin. STM microprocessors are used in the original hardware version of the Kookaberry. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STMicroelectronics and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STM32

Micro:Bit

A microcomputer for STEM applications developed in the United Kingdom by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). It also is programmed using MicroPython, and has two official visual programming tools, being Microsoft MakeCode, and Scratch. The Micro:Bit differs from the Kookaberry in that it can contain only one program at a time, it has just two buttons and an 8x8 LED matrix display, and it has no electrical sockets with which to connect peripherals, relying instead on using alligator clips or an expansion board. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_Bit and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_(programming_language)

Windows

A personal computer operating system licensed by Microsoft. KookaSuite will run on Windows V10 and later versions. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows

MacOS

A personal computer operating system developed by Apple. KookaSuite will run on MacOS V13 and later versions using the Intel and Apple’s M processors. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS

Raspbian

Latterly named Raspberry Pi OS, a personal computer operating systems for the Raspberry Pi microcomputer licensed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Raspbian is based on the Debian Linux operating system. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi_OS

Thonny

An open-source Integrated Development Environment tool tailored for programming in Python. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thonny

Firmware

Low-level computer software that is stored on on-board non-volatile memory. It performs basic low-level tasks to control and monitor the computer hardware, and to make it accessible to high-level software, such as MicroPython. Firmware updates may sometimes be issued that extend the functionality of a computer, or to remedy bugs or security weaknesses in the firmware. The Kookaberry’s firmware is updated from time to time for the same reasons. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmware

Real Time Clock (RTC)

A specialised clock chip that keeps precise time. RTCs can be built into a microcomputer and / or be connected externally. Often external RTCs have a small battery that keeps the clock running when the microcomputer is turned off. The microcomputer can then synchronise its internal RTC with the battery-powered external RTC. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_clock

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange - a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. MicroPython uses ASCII code when encoding character strings. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII

CSV

Comma-Separated-Values - a text file format in which each line contains alphanumeric text data which are separated by commas. The first line of the files can be used to represent headings for the data item columns that are in the following lines. CSV formatted files are recognised and can be directly opened by spreadsheet programs. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma-separated_values

GitHub

A software platform that allows developers to create, store, and manage their code. GitHub was acquired by Microsoft in 2018. It is commonly used to host open-source software development projects. KookaSuite and the Kookaberry firmware are both distributed using GitHub. This document is also maintained and distributed using GitHub and Read the Docs. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GitHub

Read the Docs

Read the Docs is an open-source free software documentation repository and hosting platform. This document is hosted on Read the Docs. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Read_the_Docs

Open-Source

Open source is software source code, hardware designs, documentation, artworks or other intellectual products that are made freely available for possible modification and redistribution, under certain licensing conditions, in a spirit of sharing and collaboration for the greater good. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source

Software and Hardware

Software is a collection of programs and data that tell a computer how to perform specific tasks. Software often includes associated software documentation. This is in contrast to hardware, which comprises the physical components from which the system is built and which actually performs the computing work. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_hardware