book

Coding with Minecraft

Name: Coding with Minecraft
Author: Al Sweigart
ISBN: 9781593278533

by Al Sweigart

May 2018

Intermediate to advanced

256 pages

6h 20m

English

No Starch Press

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Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication Page
About the Author
About the Technical Reviewer
Brief Contents
Contents in Detail
Acknowledgments
Introduction
What Are Minecraft Mods?What Is ComputerCraft?How to Use This BookWhat’s in This Book?Getting HelpOnline ResourcesWhat You Learned

1. Getting Started with ComputerCraft
Installing Minecraft, ATLauncher, and ComputerCraftRunning MinecraftWhat You Learned
2. Programming Basics
Getting Started with TurtlesGetting Started with Lua ProgrammingLetting Lua Do the MathStoring Values with VariablesChecking the Turtle’s Fuel LevelsWhat You Learned
3. Talking to Your Turtle
Teaching Your Turtle to Say Hello!Displaying Text with the print() FunctionRetrieving Turtle NamesGetting Keyboard Input with the io.read() FunctionGiving Text a Typewriter EffectChanging Turtle NamesWhat You Learned
4. Programming Turtles to Dance
Writing a Dance ProgramRunning the mydance ProgramUsing Comments in Your CodeTurtle Movement FunctionsExperimenting with Moving the TurtleLooping with for LoopsTaking the Turtle for a SpinDoing a Little HopSharing and Downloading Programs OnlineWhat You Learned
5. Making a Better Dancer
Writing a Better Dance ProgramRunning the mydance2 ProgramThe Boolean Data TypeThe nil Data TypeLooping with while LoopsMaking Decisions with if StatementsComparing Two Values with Comparison OperatorsMaking Alternate Decisions with elseif StatementsNested Code BlocksMaking a Decision . . . or Else!What You Learned
6. Programming a Robot Lumberjack
Equipping Turtles with ToolsDesigning a Tree-Chopping AlgorithmWriting the choptree ProgramRunning the choptree ProgramDetecting Blocks with the Turtle Detection FunctionsTerminating Programs with the error() FunctionMining Blocks with the Turtle Digging FunctionsComparing Blocks with the Turtle Comparison FunctionsReturning to the GroundStartup Programs and the shell.run() FunctionWhat You Learned
7. Creating Modules to Reuse Your Code
Creating Functions with the function StatementMaking a Module of FunctionsLooking at the Turtle’s InventoryGlobal and Local ScopeFinding an Item with a for LoopSelecting an Empty Inventory SlotWhat You Learned
8. Running an Automated Tree Farm
Designing a Tree-Farming ProgramWriting the farmtrees ProgramRunning the farmtrees ProgramTree Types in MinecraftChunk Loading in MinecraftLoading Modules with the os.loadAPI() FunctionChecking for Files with the fs.exists() FunctionSelecting Saplings in the Turtle’s InventoryRunning Other Programs with the shell.run() FunctionHandling Items with the Turtle’s Drop FunctionsRewriting Your Code for When You Have No Bone MealWhat You Learned
9. Building a Cobblestone Generator
Blueprints for the Cobblestone GeneratorSetting Up Furnaces for Smelting the CobblestoneWriting the cobminer ProgramRunning the cobminer ProgramSetting Up Your Program and Making a Constant VariableMining the Cobblestone from the GeneratorInteracting with FurnacesMoving the Cobblestone Miner Back into PositionWhat You Learned
10. Making a Stone Brick Factory
Designing a Program to Craft Stone BricksCrafting a Crafty TurtleWriting the brickcrafter ProgramRunning the brickcrafter ProgramSetup for the brickcrafter ProgramChecking the Turtle’s FuelCollecting Stone from the FurnacesCrafting Stone BricksMoving the Turtle Back into PositionCreating a Factory BuildingWhat You Learned
11. Constructing Walls
Extending the hare ModuleWriting and Running the buildwall ProgramLoading the hare ModuleUsing the Array Data TypeReading Command Line ArgumentsCreating Usage MessagesCalling hare.buildWall() to Build a WallWhat You Learned
12. Constructing Rooms
Designing a Room-Building AlgorithmExtending the hare ModuleCalculating the Total Number of Blocks Needed to Build a RoomWriting the buildRoom() FunctionWriting the buildroom ProgramRunning the buildroom ProgramWhat You Learned
13. Constructing Floors
Designing the Sweeping AlgorithmPassing Functions to FunctionsExtending the hare ModuleCalling the sweepFunc() FunctionWriting the buildFloor() FunctionWriting the buildfloor ProgramRunning the buildfloor ProgramCreating a Patterned FloorWhat You Learned
14. Programming a Robotic Farm
Setting Up a Wheat FieldDesigning the Wheat-Farming AlgorithmExtending the hare ModuleWriting the farmwheat ProgramRunning the farmwheat ProgramSetup for the farmwheat ProgramWriting Functions to Use in the Main ProgramFarming with a LoopTips for Automating Other Kinds of FarmingWhat You Learned
15. Programming a Staircase Miner
Designing the Stair-Mining AlgorithmExtending the hare ModuleWriting the digUntilClear() and digUpUntilClear() FunctionsWriting the stairminer ProgramRunning the stairminer ProgramSetup for the stairminer ProgramCreating the First Stair StepMining DownwardChecking the Turtle’s FuelChecking the Turtle’s InventoryMining UpwardWhat You Learned
Function Reference
fs (File System) APIhare APIio (Input/Output) APImath APIos (Operating System) APIshell APIstring APItextutils APIturtle APILua Functions
Name ID Reference
Finding a Block’s Name IDDistinguishing Between Blocks That Share Name IDsList of Block Name IDs
INDEX

Overview

You’ve mined for diamonds, crafted dozens of tools, and built all sorts of structures—but what if you could program robots to do all of that for you in a fraction of the time?

In Coding with Minecraft®, you’ll create a virtual robot army with Lua, a programming language used by professional game developers. Step-by-step coding projects will show you how to write programs that automatically dig mines, collect materials, craft items, and build anything that you can imagine. Along the way, you’ll explore key computer science concepts like data types, functions, variables, and more.

Learn how to:

• Program robots that make smart decisions with flow control• Reuse code so that your robots can farm any crop you want, including wheat, sugar cane, and even cacti!• Program a factory that generates infinite building supplies• Design an algorithm for creating walls and buildings of any size• Code yourself a pickaxe-swinging robotic lumberjack!• Create a robot that digs mine shafts with stairs so you can explore safely

Bonus activities in each chapter will help you take your coding skills to the next level. By the end of the book, you’ll understand how powerful coding can be and have plenty of robots at your beck and call.

Requires: Windows 7 or later; macOS 10.10 or later.

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