The Big Maze

The last challenge: two big mazes full of bones and an empty editor. Build the whole program yourself, without hints. If you get stuck, go back to the earlier exercises or ask the AI helper under the instructions.

When the dog reaches the goal, you'll have finished the whole course. Look at everything you can do:

• An algorithm is an exact procedure, and a program is an algorithm written down for a computer. A computer does exactly what you tell it.
• A program is carried out block by block, and the order matters. A big task is solved in smaller parts.
• Bugs are part of programming. You find them by running the program and watching where it behaves differently from how it should (debugging).
• A loop repeats blocks a given number of times, or while a condition is true. Watch out for endless loops.
• The If … else block decides based on a condition. Conditions and loops can be put inside each other.
• A good program works on all inputs, not just one. The right-hand rule gets through every maze of this kind.

You'll find these ideas in every programming language. You'll just write code instead of blocks. In Python, your block program would look like this:

while not at_goal():
    if bone_here():
        pick_up()
    if path_right():
        turn_right()
        move_forward()
    elif path_ahead():
        move_forward()
    else:
        turn_left()

Looks familiar, doesn't it? You can go on with the Python or JavaScript course. You'll find the same loops and conditions there, just written in words.