Add KidCode description and interpreter explanation to README

[sathwikhbhat]

Closes #63

Changes

• Added "What is KidCode?" section explaining:
  • Educational programming language based on turtle graphics
  • Visual learning approach showing step-by-step code results
  • How turtle graphics makes programming concepts tangible
• Introduced "Cody" as the turtle character with example commands:
  • Movement (move forward)
  • Rotation (turn right/left)
  • Pen control (pen up/down)
  • Color changes (color "red")
• Documented a complete interpreter pipeline with 5 stages:
  1. Lexer: Tokenization of source code
  2. Parser: AST construction and syntax validation
  3. Evaluator: Code execution and control flow handling
  4. Event Generation: UI-agnostic execution events
  5. Visualization: Canvas rendering of final result
• Emphasized event-driven architecture, keeping the interpreter decoupled from the UI

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Documentation
  • Added comprehensive README documentation covering KidCode features, turtle-graphics language fundamentals, getting started guide, language reference, architecture overview, and contribution guidelines.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

A comprehensive README.md was added documenting KidCode, its turtle-graphics-inspired design, the Cody turtle character, basic language commands (move, turn, pen control, color), and the multi-stage interpreter architecture (lexer, parser, evaluator, event generation, visualization).

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Documentation README.md	Added comprehensive project documentation including KidCode overview, language description, Cody the turtle introduction, basic command syntax, interpreter pipeline explanation, project structure, features, getting started guide, language reference, architecture, web frontend, and contribution/license sections.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~5 minutes

• Documentation-only change with no functional code or logic modifications
• Content is informational and descriptive in nature
• No code paths, dependencies, or architectural changes to validate

Poem

🐰 A rabbit hops through words so clear,
Explaining Cody, far and near,
With turtle graphics, bold and bright,
KidCode's magic now in sight! 🎨

Pre-merge checks and finishing touches

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 0.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.	You can run @coderabbitai generate docstrings to improve docstring coverage.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title Check	✅ Passed	The title "Add KidCode description and interpreter explanation to README" directly and accurately reflects the primary changes in this pull request. According to the raw summary, comprehensive README documentation was added describing KidCode as a turtle-graphics-inspired language, documenting Cody the turtle and basic commands, and explaining the multi-stage interpreter pipeline. The title is concise, clear, and specific enough for someone scanning history to understand that documentation improvements were made to explain KidCode and its interpreter mechanics.
Linked Issues Check	✅ Passed	The pull request successfully addresses all core requirements from issue #63. The changes include a clear description of KidCode as an educational language inspired by turtle graphics [#63], documentation of how turtle graphics enable visual, step-by-step learning [#63], documentation of user-facing commands for Cody including move, turn, pen up/down, and color changes [#63], and comprehensive explanation of the complete interpreter workflow across five stages: lexer, parser, evaluator, event generation, and visualization [#63]. The event-driven architecture design that keeps the interpreter decoupled from the UI is also emphasized, and the documentation notes the current behavior of rendering the final result [#63].
Out of Scope Changes Check	✅ Passed	Beyond the core requirements of issue #63 (KidCode description and interpreter explanation), the pull request also introduces additional README sections including project structure, features, getting started, language reference, architecture, web frontend, and contribution/license sections. While these sections extend beyond the specific stated objectives of the issue, they are reasonably scoped as complementary documentation improvements that support the overarching goal stated in issue #63 to "improve README clarity to help newcomers understand KidCode's purpose and interpreter mechanics, enhancing usability." All changes remain within the documentation domain with no unrelated code or functional logic modifications introduced.

✨ Finishing touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Post copyable unit tests in a comment

---

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}

[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 0

Caution

Some comments are outside the diff and can’t be posted inline due to platform limitations.

⚠️ Outside diff range comments (1)

README.md (1)

109-124: Language Reference section is incomplete and contains a misleading reference.

Line 121 references "(See original README for full table and examples)," but no such file exists in the repository. Meanwhile, the test files confirm that Variables, Lists, Functions, and Control Flow are fully implemented features in KidCode (see test_scripts/test_functions_lists.kc for examples), yet none are documented in the Language Reference section.

To complete this PR:

1. Add documentation for Variables (e.g., set variable_name = value), Lists (e.g., set list = [...] and indexing), Functions (define name ... end define), and Control Flow (repeat ... end repeat), OR
2. Remove the misleading "original README" reference and replace with a clear statement directing users to the test scripts folder for examples, OR
3. Create a dedicated language reference document and link to it.

Without these features documented, users cannot learn the full KidCode language capabilities from the README.

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)

README.md (1)

73-106: Getting Started assumes intermediate technical knowledge.

The build and run instructions are clearly formatted, but they assume familiarity with Maven, Java, and command-line tools. For the target audience of programming beginners, consider adding:

• Brief explanation of prerequisites (e.g., "Maven is a build tool")
• Links to installation guides for Java/Maven
• Troubleshooting section for common setup issues

This would make the README more accessible to absolute beginners.

📜 Review details

Configuration used: Path: .coderabbit.yaml

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 253def8 and 698ec4e.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• README.md (1 hunks)

🔇 Additional comments (4)

README.md (4)

8-20: Excellent introduction to KidCode and turtle graphics.

The "What is KidCode?" section effectively explains the educational paradigm and introduces Cody with concrete, relatable commands. The progression from conceptual explanation to practical examples is well-suited for beginners.

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21-35: Well-documented interpreter pipeline.

The five-stage pipeline (lexer → parser → evaluator → event generation → visualization) is clearly explained and appropriately introduces the event-driven architecture philosophy. The note about showing the final result and potential for future animation is helpful context.

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37-71: Clear project structure and comprehensive feature overview.

The three-module Maven structure is well-explained, and the features are organized logically across language, UI, API, and safety categories. The distinction between core (headless) and frontend (desktop/web) modules is important context for contributors.

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127-146: Architecture and Web Frontend sections are well-documented.

The event-driven architecture is clearly explained, the REST API endpoints are specified, and the frontend components (Monaco, canvas, output log) are described appropriately. This content will help both contributors and integrators understand the system design.