Recently there’s been a big boom in apps for aspiring lil’ programmers, with developers and toymakers tinkering up all sorts of ways to turn good clean code into good clean fun. But what about grownups who may have, say, gotten a degree in creative writing, neglected to acquire any actual marketable skills along the way, and are now toeing the bluff of middle age? (Blush.) For those people, and for just about anyone else who fancies picking up some basic computer science chops in their spare time, there’s Mimo.

In addition to being a clean, speedy, intuitive app, Mimo is also an ingenious little interactive teaching platform covering a range of programming languages for apps, games, and websites, like C#, JavaScript, Swift, Python, CSS, Ruby, and more. Its short-form lessons and quizzes only take a few minutes to complete — I brushed up on CSS while waiting for the bus, and picked up some Python in the park during lunch. After a while, the lessons feel like addictive little code-snacks. I know. Weird.

PRO: Like any language, code is way easier to learn when you’re using it, so Mimo lessons enact their topics by making you participate and play with programming, rather than just read tutorials or watch videos. This is me actively trying to avoid using the word “gamify.’’

CON: The free version of Mimo only gives you two complete lessons; after that, a yearly subscription fee of $49.99 keeps the other (and future) lessons unlocked. Put your shiny new skills to good use, however, and Mimo could easily pay for itself.

MICHAEL ANDOR BRODEUR

Michael Andor Brodeur can be reached at michael.brodeur@globe.com