Learn Python on the Raspberry Pi: Turtle Fun

This week in my Learn Python on the Raspberry Pi series it's all about having fun with Turtle Graphics.

Using Python's 'turtle' module all it takes is a few lines of code to create engaging, colourful graphical patterns and designs.

If you don't have a Raspberry Pi you can still follow the series with these emulation instructions.

Here are a few extracts from Part 5:

Logo is an interesting computer language.

While its origins go back to the 1960s (see boxouts), in recent times Logo has been associated with something called 'turtle graphics'. The idea is to draw pictures and generate patterns by issuing commands to a screen-based 'turtle'.

Logo has a lot going for it. It's a language based on simple commands, using words that even the youngest primary school pupil will understand. Words such as 'forward', 'backward', 'left' and 'right'.

So, how do we access all this fun with Python? Well, it's all down to a module called 'turtle', which has a collection of Logo-like commands, implemented as functions - plus some useful window and event management features.

I hope you enjoyed this introduction to turtle graphics. Maybe you've been surprised at how easy it is to create quite complex patterns. There's so many ways to experiment, so have some fun creating your own little turtle programs. Visit the turtle module reference pages to discover more.

Next time I'll continue the visual theme by introducing game programming with the PyGame module.

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