Welcome to the KookaBlocs Reference Guide!

KookaBlocs is a powerful visual scripting editor and prototyping tool designed for the Kookaberry and Raspberry Pi Pico microprocessors running Kookaberry firmware. This editor runs within Chrome, Vivaldi or Edge web browsers as a Progressive Web Application (PWA) on Personal Computers using Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS, Linux and on Chromebooks. It features a drag-and-drop programming interface, making it beginner-friendly and highly intuitive.

This document describes how to use the KookaBlocs visual scripting development tool.

KookaBlocs and the KookaCode script editing tool were commissioned by the AustSTEM Foundation and created by Damien George for the Kookaberry.

This guide is for KookaBlocs v1.0.

The document is in TWO parts:

1. Working with KookaBlocs - relates to KookaBlocs set-up, basic screen displays and usage.

2. A Reference Document for the visual functional blocks in KookaBlocs.

Contents

• Part 1 - Working With KookaBlocs
  • Introduction to KookaBlocs
    • KookaBlocs: Visual Programming Editor for Kookaberry Microprocessor Boards
    • Key Features
    • Programming With KookaBlocs
    • AustSTEM Learning Hub
  • Access and Install KookaBlocs
    • Accessing KookaBlocs
    • Compatible Web browsers
    • Installing KookaBlocs
      • Google Chrome
      • Microsoft Edge
      • Vivaldi
    • Script Folders
    • KookaBlocs Updates
    • Editing KookaBlocs Scripts Using KookaIDE or KookaCode
  • Using the KookaBlocs Application
    • Name
    • App Controls
    • Workspace
    • Blocks Palette
    • Script Controls
    • Scroll Bars, Centre, Zoom and Trash
  • KookaBlocs Conventions
    • Block Shapes
    • Block Configuration
    • Right-clicking
    • Text Delimiters
    • Deleting Blocks
• Part 2 - KookaBlocs Function Blocks Reference
  • Control
    • On Start
    • Scheduled Loop
    • Every Loop
    • Exit Program
    • Sleep
    • Time (s)
    • Time (ms)
  • Clock
    • Internal Clock
      • Get Clock – Simple Time
      • Get Clock - Extended Time
      • Set Clock from Character String
    • External Clock
      • External Clock’s Pins Connections
      • Get External Clock - Simple Time
      • Get External Clock – Extended Time
    • Set Internal Clock from External Clock
    • Set External Clock from Internal Clock
    • Set External Clock from Character String
  • Display
    • Kookaberry Display
    • Text coordinates
    • Display Clear
    • Display Show
    • Display Set Font
    • Display Print
    • Display Print-and
    • Display Pixel
    • Display Line
    • Display Rectangle
    • Display Text
    • Display Image
  • Buttons
    • When Button Was Pressed
    • When Button Is Pressed
    • Button was pressed
    • Button is pressed
    • Button to Exit Program
  • LEDs
    • Turn ON LED
    • Turn OFF LED
    • Toggle LED
    • Set NeoPixel
  • Pins
    • Pin Turn ON
    • Pin Turn OFF
    • Pin Toggle
    • Set Pin to Digital Value
    • Get Pin Digital Value
    • Get Pin Voltage
    • Get Pin Voltage as Percentage of Maximum
    • Set Pin to Voltage
    • Set Pin to Percentage of Maximum
    • Pin – Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
  • Sensors
    • Internal Sensors
      • Get Accelerometer (raw)
      • Get Accelerometer (scaled)
      • Get Compass
    • External Sensors
      • Sensors’ Pins Connections
      • Get Temperature from DS18x20
      • Get Temperature from NTC
      • Get Temperature or Humidity from DHT11 or DHT22
      • Get Temperature / Humidity / Pressure from BME280
        • About The BME280 Sensor
      • Get Acceleration / Compass Strength from LSM303
        • About the LSM303 Sensor
      • Get LUX from VEML7700
        • About the VEML7700 Sensor
      • Get Power / Voltage / Current from INA219
        • About the INA219 Sensor
      • Get Soil Moisture
        • About Soil Moisture Sensors
    • More Sensor Learning Resources
  • Actuators
    • Actuators’ Pins Connections
    • Set Servo to Angle
    • Set Servo to Angle Taking Seconds
    • Set Servo to Speed
    • Set Servo to Speed Taking Seconds
    • More Actuator Learning Resources
  • Radio
    • Internal Radio
      • When Radio Receive
      • Radio Read
      • Radio Send
      • Set Radio channel
      • Set Radio Parameter
    • External Radio
      • When HC-12 Receive
      • HC-12 Read
      • HC-12 Send
      • HC-12 Send and
      • HC-12 Set Channel
  • Logging
    • Clear File
    • Log To File
  • Boolean
    • Comparison
    • Boolean And / Or
    • Not
    • True / False
    • Null
    • Test If
  • If–Else
    • If-Do
    • If-Do-Else-Do
    • If-Do-Else If-Do-Else-Do
    • If-Do Configuration
  • Loops
    • Loop Repeat
    • Loop Repeat While / Until
    • Count With Variable From-To-By
      • Count With Variable Example
    • For Each Item In List
    • Break / Continue Loop
  • Strings
    • Text
    • Format as Integer
    • Format as Floating Point
    • Convert to Integer
    • Convert to Float
  • Lists
    • Create List
      • Create List Example
    • Create List With Item Repeated No. of Times
    • Length Of List
    • Is Empty
    • In List Find First / Last Occurrence of Item
      • In List Find Example
    • In List Get / Remove Item
      • In List Get / Remove Examples
    • In List Set / Insert Item
      • In List Set / Insert Example
    • In List Get Sub-List
      • Get Sub-List Example
    • Make List / Text With Delimiter
      • Make List / Text Examples
    • Sort List
      • Sort List Example
  • Math
    • Number
      • Number Example
    • Arithmetic
      • Arithmetic Example
    • Multiply and Add
    • Scale Function
      • Scale Example
    • Math Function
    • Trigonometric Function
    • Special Constants
    • Number Property Test
    • Round Number
    • List Operations
      • List Operations Example
    • Remainder
    • Constrain
    • Random Integer
    • Random Fraction
    • Atan2 of X
  • Variables
    • Create Variable
    • Set Variable
    • Change Variable
    • Variable Value
  • Functions
    • Define Function
      • Define Inputs
      • Function Name
      • Function Description
    • Define Function with Return Value
    • If Condition Return
  • Advanced
    • Python Value
    • Python Action
    • Advanced Example
• Glossary of Terms

Example Scripts:

All the scripts used in this guide are available for downloading from Github and following the instructions on the README page:

Errata:

If errors or issues are found in the KookaBlocs Reference Guide please post an issue on GitHub.

Copyright:

Blockly is a library from Google for building beginner-friendly block-based programming languages.

Kookaberry and Kooka are trademarks of Kookaberry Pty Ltd, Australia.

The Kooka Firmware release v1.10.0, KookaBlocs and KookaCode were created by Damien George (George Electronics Pty Ltd – MicroPython) in collaboration with Kookaberry Pty Ltd and the AustSTEM Foundation Ltd.