The Logo computer language first came to life on a large computer in the Artificial Intelligence labs at MIT. The language was a spin-off of a computer language called Lisp.
The inventors of the language hooked the MIT computers to a "robot" that looked like a large, inverted, salad bowl with wheels. Since it looked like a "turtle" that's what they called it.
They used Logo to move the robot in the same way that kids nowadays use radio controls to move toy cars.
Logo in Education
Seymour Papert, an instructor at MIT, proposed that Logo be given to kids to see if they could discover how a computer works.
Logo left the laboratory and entered classrooms inside thousands of Apple II and Texas Instrument 99/4A computers in the 1970's and 80's. The large "turtle" was replaced with a small on-screen triangle.
Logo in Higher Education
Like many other computer languages, Logo grew in complexity and graduated from elementary and high school and showed up on several college campuses where it became the preferred "learning language" for non-computer science students.
If you want a version of Logo that is used at the University of California, get a copy of the BLOGO.EXE file from our Web site. It runs on the Palmtop and will do everything Ladybug will do and a whole lot more.
If you want to try creating Windows programs then get a copy of MSWLogo from the Softronics company (MS does not stand for Microsoft in this case). It too is free for the taking.
Read More About It
If you want to read more about programming in Logo there are two text files in the Ladybug package. One is called LADYBUG.LST which is a reference manual for Ladybug Logo. The other is labeled DISCVR.TXT. "It's really a book about having fun at the computer, about exploring new ideas, about discovering what you and your imagination can do with Ladybug Logo."
Where To Go After Logo
After you've mastered Logo to your satisfaction you should find that programming the Lego Mindstorms Robot is a "piece of cake." The "Lego" language is really the Logo language in disguise.
If you want to expand your programming repertoire the next step would be to learn the Scheme or Lisp computer languages.
Finally, if you have an HP 48GX calculator, Scheme or Lisp will give you a better understanding of the Reverse Polish Lisp language built into that machine.