Tutorial (V1)

This tutorial is for someone opening Englang for the first time.

By the end of this page, you should understand how to write small Englang programs using:

start
print
set
math expressions
if / else
loops
functions
ask

Englang V1 is intentionally written in an English-like style. The goal is to understand programming logic first, before moving into symbol-heavy syntax.

1. Program Start

Every Englang program starts with:

start

This tells the reader that the program begins from here.

A very small Englang program looks like this:

start
print "Hello from Englang".

The start keyword makes the program feel clear for beginners.

In many programming languages, the starting point is hidden inside functions, files, or runtime rules.
In Englang, the starting point is visible.

2. Show Output with `print`

Use print when you want to show something on the screen.

Example:

start
print "Hello from Englang".

Output:

Hello from Englang

Text should be written inside double quotes:

print "This is text".

You can also print more than one value by separating them with commas:

start
set name to "Alice".
print "Hello", name.

Output:

Hello Alice

Think of print as the way your program speaks to the user.

3. Store Values with `set`

Use set to store a value in a variable.

Example:

start
set x to 10.
print x.

Output:

Here, x is a variable.

A simple way to understand a variable is:

A variable is a named box that stores a value.

So this line:

set x to 10.

means:

Create a box called x and store 10 inside it.

Later, when you write:

print x.

Englang reads the value stored inside x and prints it.

You can store text too:

start
set name to "Alice".
print "Name is", name.

Output:

Name is Alice

4. Basic Math Expressions

Englang V1 uses English words for math.

Example:

start
set x to 10.
set y to x plus 5.
print y.

Output:

Supported arithmetic words:

plus
minus
times
divided by

Examples:

start
set a to 10.
set b to 5.

print a plus b.
print a minus b.
print a times b.
print a divided by b.

Output:

You can also use parentheses when you want some calculation to happen first:

start
set x to 10.
set y to (x plus 2) times 3.
print y.

Output:

Without parentheses, expressions may be harder to read.
For beginners, using parentheses is a good habit when the calculation has multiple parts.

5. Decision Making with `if / else`

Programs become useful when they can make decisions.

Use if when your program should do something only when a condition is true.

Example:

start
set age to 20.

if age is greater than 18 then begin
  print "Adult".
else begin
  print "Not adult".
end

Output:

Adult

The condition is:

age is greater than 18

If this condition is true, the first block runs.

If it is false, the else block runs.

6. Multiple Decisions with `else if`

Use else if when there are more than two possible results.

Example:

start
set score to 7.

if score is greater than 10 then begin
  print "large".
else if score is greater than 5 then begin
  print "medium".
else begin
  print "small".
end

Output:

medium

Englang checks the conditions from top to bottom.

In this example:

score is greater than 10 -> false
score is greater than 5  -> true

So it prints:

medium

The else block only runs when none of the previous conditions are true.

7. Comparison Words

Englang V1 uses English comparison phrases.

Common comparisons:

is equal to
is not equal to
is greater than
is less than
is greater than or equal to
is less than or equal to

Example:

start
set marks to 80.

if marks is greater than or equal to 40 then begin
  print "Passed".
else begin
  print "Failed".
end

Output:

Passed

These phrases are longer than symbols like >=, but they are easier to understand when learning for the first time.

8. Repeat Work with Loops

Loops are used when you want to repeat something.

Without loops, you may write:

print "Hello".
print "Hello".
print "Hello".

With a loop, you can write the idea once.

Englang V1 supports three beginner-friendly loops:

while
for each
repeat

9. `while` Loop

A while loop runs as long as a condition is true.

Example:

start
set n to 1.

while n is less than or equal to 5:
  print n.
  set n to n plus 1.
end

Output:

How this works:

n starts at 1
print n
increase n by 1
repeat while n is less than or equal to 5
stop when n becomes 6

Important point:

The value must change inside the loop.

This line is important:

set n to n plus 1.

Without it, n would stay 1, and the loop may never stop.

10. `for each` Loop

Use for each when you want to loop through a number range.

Example:

start
for each number from 1 to 5:
  print number.
end

Output:

This means:

Start number from 1
Run the body
Increase number
Stop after 5

The loop variable is available inside the loop body.

In this example, the loop variable is:

number

You can choose another name:

start
for each n from 1 to 3:
  print n.
end

Output:

1
2
3

11. `repeat` Loop

Use repeat when you know exactly how many times something should run.

Example:

start
repeat 3 times:
  print "Hello".
end

Output:

Hello
Hello
Hello

This is the simplest loop for beginners.

Use repeat when the count is fixed.

Use while when the loop depends on a condition.

Use for each when looping through a range of numbers.

12. Stop a Loop Early with `break`

Sometimes you want to stop a loop before it naturally ends.

Use break.

Example:

start
for each n from 1 to 10:
  if n is equal to 5 then begin
    break.
  end

  print n.
end

Output:

The loop starts from 1.

When n becomes 5, the condition becomes true:

n is equal to 5

Then break stops the loop.

That is why 5 is not printed.

13. Even and Odd Numbers

Englang V1 supports beginner-friendly number checks.

Example:

start
for each n from 1 to 5:
  if n is even then begin
    print n, "is even".
  else if n is odd then begin
    print n, "is odd".
  end
end

Output:

is odd
is even
is odd
is even
is odd

This is easier for beginners than writing remainder logic directly.

You can also check divisibility:

start
set n to 10.

if n is divisible by 5 then begin
  print "Divisible by 5".
end

Output:

Divisible by 5

14. Reuse Logic with Functions

A function is a reusable block of logic.

Example:

start
function greet(name):
  print "Hello", name.
end

greet("Alice").

Output:

Hello Alice

This function is named:

greet

It takes one value:

name

When this line runs:

greet("Alice").

Englang puts "Alice" into name and runs the function body.

Functions are useful when you do not want to repeat the same logic again and again.

Example:

start
function greet(name):
  print "Hello", name.
end

greet("Alice").
greet("Bob").
greet("Charlie").

Output:

Hello Alice
Hello Bob
Hello Charlie

Without a function, you would need to write separate print lines manually.

15. Take User Input with `ask`

Use ask when you want the user to enter something.

Example:

start
set name to ask("What is your name?").
print "Hello", name.

If the user enters:

Alice

Output:

Hello Alice

This line:

set name to ask("What is your name?").

does two things:

shows a question to the user
stores the answer in name

Input makes programs feel interactive.

Without input, the program always uses fixed values.
With input, the program can react to the user.

16. Complete Beginner Program

This program uses variables, input, condition, and output together.

start
set userName to ask("What is your name?").
set score to 8.

if score is greater than 5 then begin
  print "Welcome", userName.
  print "You passed the level.".
else begin
  print "Welcome", userName.
  print "Try again.".
end

If the user enters:

Alice

Output:

Welcome Alice
You passed the level.

What this program does:

asks for the user's name
stores it in userName
stores 8 in score
checks if score is greater than 5
prints a success message

This is a good first complete program because it has the basic parts of many real programs:

input
stored data
decision
output

17. Practice Program: Greatest of Two Numbers

Try this program:

start
set a to 10.
set b to 20.

if a is greater than b then begin
  print a, "is greater".
else begin
  print b, "is greater".
end

Output:

20 is greater

This program checks two values and prints the bigger one.

18. Practice Program: FizzBuzz

FizzBuzz is a common beginner programming problem.

Rules:

If number is divisible by 3 and 5, print FizzBuzz
If number is divisible by 3, print Fizz
If number is divisible by 5, print Buzz
Otherwise print the number

Program:

start
for each n from 1 to 20:
  if n is divisible by 3 and n is divisible by 5 then begin
    print "FizzBuzz".
  else if n is divisible by 3 then begin
    print "Fizz".
  else if n is divisible by 5 then begin
    print "Buzz".
  else begin
    print n.
  end
end

This program is useful because it combines:

loop
condition
else if
divisibility
printing

19. Common Beginner Mistakes

Forgetting the dot at the end of a statement

Incorrect:

print "Hello"

Correct:

print "Hello".

The dot tells Englang that the statement has ended.

Forgetting `end`

Incorrect:

start
if x is greater than 5 then begin
  print "big".

Correct:

start
if x is greater than 5 then begin
  print "big".
end

Every block should be closed.

Not updating a `while` loop variable

Incorrect:

start
set n to 1.

while n is less than or equal to 5:
  print n.
end

Here, n never changes.

Correct:

start
set n to 1.

while n is less than or equal to 5:
  print n.
  set n to n plus 1.
end

Using a variable before setting it

Incorrect:

start
print name.

Correct:

start
set name to "Alice".
print name.

Set the value before using it.

20. What You Learned

You now know the basic parts of Englang V1:

start       begins the program
print       shows output
set         stores values
if/else     makes decisions
while       repeats while a condition is true
for each    repeats through a number range
repeat      repeats a fixed number of times
break       stops a loop early
function    creates reusable logic
ask         takes user input

These are enough to write small beginner programs.

21. What Next

After this tutorial:

Go to How To Use to run Englang on your system.
Go to CDN Usage to run Englang inside browser pages.
Go to Thinking to understand how Englang is designed.

Once you are comfortable with V1, you can move to V2 and V3 later.

V1 focuses on readability.
V2 introduces more symbols.
V3 moves closer to mainstream programming syntax.

1. Program Start​

2. Show Output with print​

3. Store Values with set​

4. Basic Math Expressions​

5. Decision Making with if / else​

6. Multiple Decisions with else if​

7. Comparison Words​

8. Repeat Work with Loops​

9. while Loop​

10. for each Loop​

11. repeat Loop​

12. Stop a Loop Early with break​

13. Even and Odd Numbers​

14. Reuse Logic with Functions​

15. Take User Input with ask​

16. Complete Beginner Program​

17. Practice Program: Greatest of Two Numbers​

18. Practice Program: FizzBuzz​

19. Common Beginner Mistakes​

Forgetting the dot at the end of a statement​

Forgetting end​

Not updating a while loop variable​

Using a variable before setting it​

20. What You Learned​

21. What Next​

1. Program Start

2. Show Output with `print`

3. Store Values with `set`

4. Basic Math Expressions

5. Decision Making with `if / else`

6. Multiple Decisions with `else if`

7. Comparison Words

8. Repeat Work with Loops

9. `while` Loop

10. `for each` Loop

11. `repeat` Loop

12. Stop a Loop Early with `break`

13. Even and Odd Numbers

14. Reuse Logic with Functions

15. Take User Input with `ask`

16. Complete Beginner Program

17. Practice Program: Greatest of Two Numbers

18. Practice Program: FizzBuzz

19. Common Beginner Mistakes

Forgetting the dot at the end of a statement

Forgetting `end`

Not updating a `while` loop variable

Using a variable before setting it

20. What You Learned

21. What Next