The Raspberry Pi was created largely as a platform for teaching people how to become programmers, but getting started with the device isn't always easy.

The Google Creative Lab is hoping to change that with a new open source project called "Coder," which turns the Pi into a "personal Web server and Web-based development environment." After installing the Coder image on a Pi's SD card and hooking it up to your network, you'd log into it from a browser on a Windows, Mac or Linux computer connected to the same network. It works in Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and any "relatively modern browser."

It's "just what you need for crafting HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while you’re learning to code," Jason Striegel of the Google Creative Lab wrote yesterday. It's envisioned as a platform for parents and teachers to teach the basics of building the Web applications. "New coders can craft small projects in HTML, CSS, and Javascript, right from the web browser," the project page says.

Coder's landing page contains the apps you've built and a green button for getting started with a new project:

The development environment is described as a "simple browser-based editor with quick access to all the files that make up your app":

Coder lets you upload photos and other media to use in a program and has an "eye icon" that opens a preview of your application right next to your code. "You can see your work update live as you create your program," Google wrote.

Besides those new to programming, Google thinks people who are already Web programmers will find Coder to be a "fun sandbox for experimenting with new ideas or making demos for other people to learn from."

Google put Coder on GitHub in the hopes that other people will fix bugs and add features.