SeaTurtle

A simple programming language for kids

SeaTurtle is a simple programming environment with graphical output that helps teach the fundamentals of programming. Get the App

Top Features

Purposefully Simple

The SeaTurtle language has no special characters, few keywords, and a minimum of features—purposefully. It's just enought to teach the most important concepts in programming without being overwhelming.

Made for macOS

SeaTurtle is a native Mac app that follows macOS user interface conventions. SeaTurtle feels at home, friendly, and familiar using native dialogs for everything from font choosing, to printing.

Ample Learning Materials

SeaTurtle comes with example programs, tutorials, and extensive documentation.

Screenshots

Questions

Is SeaTurtle a version of Logo?
SeaTurtle is highly inspired by the programming languages Logo and BASIC, which were common tools for teaching programming in the 1980s. However, despite also being a Turtle Graphics programming language, SeaTurtle is not compatible with Logo. It is easy to translate most Logo programs into SeaTurtle programs. SeaTurtle has a few less features than Logo, and arguably an even simpler syntax.
Why is SeaTurtle missing feature X?
SeaTurtle is a very simple programming language. And this is mostly by design. It is aimed at having the absolute simplest feature set possible while still being able to produce useful/educational programs. There is absolutely no overhead in SeaTurtle's syntax: there are no special characters (just English keywords), the syntax is case-insensitive, and there is only one type of variable (integers). The goal is to leave nothing in the way of the user learning simple concepts like loops, subroutines, variables, and if-statements. Sometimes having many features and sophisticated syntax actually gets in the way when learning fundamentals. We don't expect SeaTurtle to be used beyond educational purposes; hence its only goal is to pique the user's interest in programming. They then can move on to Python, Java or any other suitable "real" language that has every feature imaginable that SeaTurtle is missing.
What do SeaTurtle programs look like? Is the language described somewhere?
You can get a sense of the language by browsing the "Language Reference" section of the documentation. You can also checkout the introductory YouTube tutorial to get a basic sense.
Is there an Android, iOS, or Windows version?
No, but if the Mac version does well, any of the above is a future possibility. Let us know what you want.
What learning resources are available?
SeaTurtle comes with a dozen example programs, there are YouTube tutorials, and there is a written language guide. We are open to offering more materials, so let us know what you would like to see.
Do you offer academic site licenses?
Yes, please contact us with your number of potential users to inquire about volume academic pricing.
What versions of macOS does SeaTurtle run on?
SeaTurtle should run on any Mac running macOS 10.13 or greater.

Thanks for using SeaTurtle! Tell your friends, and don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Email Us: seaturtle@oaksnow.com