The history of Pliro: learning to program together
Pliro began in 2024 with an idea: every child should have the chance to learn programming. You might want to make your own game, draw pictures or find out how a computer follows instructions. Pliro gives you a place to start.
Martijn Wiggers created Pliro and developed the idea further in the summer of 2026.
Learning by trying
One source of inspiration was SuperLogo, which helped children learn programming by giving instructions and seeing the results. Pliro brings that way of learning to new projects: try something, see what happens and change your code.
For example, you can make a turtle on the screen draw a square. Change one instruction and the picture changes too. You learn what your code does by watching the result.
Why the name Pliro?
Pliro is a made-up name. It has no special meaning. The name was chosen because it is short and playful, and can be used in different languages.
It also sounds good in a command such as pliro run, which starts a program.
From a first drawing to your own game
You can begin with a few instructions and build bigger projects as you learn. Pliro is for children in both primary and secondary school. You can use English or Dutch programming words.
Start with a turtle drawing, try text and blocks in the Pliro editor, or make a quiz. You do not need a big plan. Being curious is enough to begin.