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Elan (short for 'educational language' but is also an English word meaning 'flair', 'style' or 'panache') is a brand new programming language and integrated IDE, running within a browser. Elan is specifically designed for teaching programming in schools - with a focus on ages 11-18 (that's Years 7 - 13, or KS3-KS5). It is a UK-based project, explicitly conceived to support both the needs and the constraints of Computer Science the British school-level education system, and uses English language with British spellings. It is the first new programming language to be designed with this intent since BBC Basic in 1981. Elan is multi-paradigm - meaning that it supports the procedural (PP), object-oriented (OOP), and functional (FP) programming paradigms. For more information see elan-lang.org.
Elan supports the three most widely recognised programming paradigms:
and supports them all properly. For example, unlike in most 'multi-paradigm' programming languages, Elan functions are always pure and side-effect free - the most important pre-requisite for proper functional programming.
Features
* A 'frame-based' code editor, that has the look of a text-based language and editor, but feels somewhat like a block-based language. As well as aiding productivity and reducing the need for typing skills, it eliminates the majority of syntax errors.
* A built-in library, the use of which does not require any import statement.
* A display screen alongside the code editor, with the ability to output simple block graphics, turtle graphics, vector graphics, and formatted, styled Html.
* A built-in debugger
* Absolutely no AI - so teachers and exam boards can be confident that pupils are not getting inappropriate help.
Last modified 18 May 2025