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URML (open robot intent language): an English front door alongside MakeCode for micro:bit #11340

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@idoco2003

Hi MakeCode team,

URML (urml.dev) is a small, Apache-2.0 language for describing robot intent. A student writes an English sentence, URML translates it to a primitive, validates it against the device's declared capabilities, then dispatches. URML already ships a micro:bit capability fixture, so it describes the same device MakeCode's flagship editor targets. I have separately opened a thread with the micro:bit Foundation about the platform (RFC-0172); this thread is about the authoring environment, which is a different conversation.

Nothing here asks MakeCode to change or maintain anything. It is a request for comment on whether a plain-English, validated-intent on-ramp toward a MakeCode program is interesting, or out of scope.

One real question. URML's manifest needs to align with a device definition. Could it map onto a MakeCode target or board definition for the micro:bit-class subset, and what grain would be most useful from your side: just naming the target, or the board-level pin/peripheral detail?

Full write-up if useful: https://github.com/URML-MARS/URML/blob/main/docs/rfcs/0288-makecode-outreach.md

Thanks for how far MakeCode has lowered the bar for classroom programming.

Ido Yahalomi (URML, greenvh@gmail.com)

AI-assisted prose, maintainer-reviewed before posting (see VIBE.md). Human-only correspondence available on request.

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