Turtle reference
The following is a summary of turtle instructions, taken from the Python reference docs.
Import
The turtle will begin in the screen center, facing right. Positive angles rotate counter-clockwise
Command |
Example |
Description |
home() |
home() |
return to the starting point and heading |
right( angle-in-degrees ) |
right(45) |
Rotate clockwise the given number of degrees |
left( angle-in-degrees ) |
left(45) |
Rotate counter-clockwise the given number of degrees |
goto( x-coord, y-coord ) |
goto(-50, 50) |
Jump to new x,y coordinates on screen |
setx( x-coord ) |
setx(100) |
Jump only the x coordinate to new position |
sety( x-coord ) |
sety(100) |
Jump only the y coordinate to new position |
setheading( new-angle-in-degrees ) |
setheading(90) |
Point in new direction where 0 == facing right. Positive numbers turn counter-clockwise |
forward( distance ) |
forward(100) |
Move forward given distance of pixels |
backward( distance ) |
backward(100) |
Move backward given distance of pixels |
circle( radius ) |
circle(50) |
Draw a circle with radius 50 pixels |
circle( radius, arc-size-in-degrees ) |
circle(50, 180) |
Draw part of a circle, determined by number of degrees given |
dot( radius ) |
dot(50) |
Draw a filled circle(dot) of given size |
hideturtle() |
hideturtle() |
Will still draw but hide the little animated turtle shape. Will speed up complex drawings |
showturtle() |
showturtle() |
Show the turtle when drawing |
Pen control
Command |
Example |
Description |
pendown() |
pendown() |
Draw including whenever moving, jumping location |
penup() |
penup() |
Stop drawing when moving |
pensize( width ) |
pensize(1) |
Thickness to draw lines |
isdown() |
isdown() |
Returns True or False based on if the pen is down |
Get turtle information
Command |
Example |
Description |
position() |
x,y = position() |
Returns an (x,y) tuple of the current location |
xcor() |
x = xcor() |
Get the current x-coordinate location |
ycor() |
y = ycor() |
Get the current y-coordinate location |
heading() |
direction = heading() |
Get the current facing direction in degrees |
Colors
Command |
Example |
Description |
pencolor( color ) |
pencolor( "yellow") |
Change the pen color |
fillcolor( color ) |
fillcolor( "lime") |
Change the fill color - see begin_fill() and end_fill()! |
begin_fill() |
begin_fill() |
Tells Python you are starting a shape you want to be filled in when complete |
end_fill() |
end_fill() |
Tells Python you have finished the shape and to fill it in |
bgcolor( color ) |
bgcolor( "sky blue") |
Change the background color |
bgpic( picture_file ) |
bgpic( "background.gif") |
Set a background picture. Must be GIF format |
bgpic( "nopic" ) |
bgpic( "nopic") |
Removes the background picture |
Note: colors can be any of the following:
Screen settings
Command |
Example |
Description |
screensize( width, height ) |
screensize( 640,480 ) |
Set width and height of turtle screen |
title( name ) |
title( "My amazing project" ) |
Set title name of turtle screen |
reset() |
reset() |
Clear screen, re-center turtle, reset heading to right |
clear() |
clear() |
Clear screen without recentering turtle or resetting heading |
window_width() |
w = window_width() |
Get screen width |
window_height() |
h = window_height() |
Get screen height |
isvisible() |
vis = isvisible() |
Is the turtle visible? |
speed( new-speed ) |
speed(10) |
Set drawing speed between 1 and 10. Normally starts at 6. |
bye() |
bye() |
Close turtle |
exitonclick() |
exitonclick() |
Tells Turtle to quit if the exit icon of the screen is clicked |
Events
Command |
Example |
Description |
onscreenclick( function ) |
onscreenclick( click ) |
execute function when screen clicked. callback must take two parameters for x,y coordinates of the click |
onrelease( function ) |
onrelease( click ) |
execute function when mouse click let go. callback must take two parameters for x,y coordinates of the click |
onkeypress( function, key ) |
onkeypress( pressed, "Up" ) |
execute function when nominated key is pressed. callback must take two parameters for x,y coordinates of the click |
ontimer( function, time-in-ms ) |
ontimer( ticktock, 1000 ) |
execute function once after given number milli-seconds |
mainloop() |
mainloop() |
Start the main event handling loop to run your game |
Write text to screen
Command |
Example |
Description |
write( text ) |
write( "Hello there") |
Write text to screen where ever the turtle is |
write( text, font=(fontname,size,weighting) |
write( "Hello there", font=("Arial",10,"normal")) |
Write text to screen of specified font |
Input popup prompts
Command |
Example |
Description |
textinput("title", "prompt") |
name = textinput("Name", "What is your name?" |
Popup box for text information |
numinput("title", "prompt") |
num = numinput("Enter a number", "Enter a number between 0 and 100") |
Popup box to enter a number |