A Beginner's Guide to Writing Minecraft Plugins in JavaScript

Book excerpt: The book is for anyone who wants to learn how to modify Minecraft--no previous programming experience required! The book uses JavaScript, a popular programming language for creating websites and scripting. Aimed at kids who already play Minecraft, this guide will teach coding through a series of "Recipes" (the term used in-game when crafting new objects). For example, in the game, one of the first things any player must do is create a Workbench, or Crafting Table, which will in turn enable the player to create sophisticated tools. Recipe 1 in the book (the term Recipe and Chapter is interchangeable) is 'A modding Workbench' and its ingredients are the tools the reader will need to begin modding. The goal of each Recipe/chapter is to introduce a new JavaScript concept or expand upon a previously introduced concept. The author will present each recipe as a useful addition to the game while gently introducing programming concepts in an approachable style. This unique approach gets over the problem of introducing JavaScript in an interesting way and avoids spending 3 or 4 chapters explaining JavaScript core concepts in a vacuum. Several Recipes will be covered, including Rolling Dice, Snowball Fight, Piggie Pandemonium, Advanced Modding, and more.