What do you use for programming in Minecraft? I tried Tinker with my son - but the process is rather tedious, you have to type in a command and an internet addr

What do you use for programming in Minecraft? I tried Tinker with my son - but the process is rather tedious, you have to type in a command and an internet address to connect to with each game session, not to mention that Scratch block manipulation on iPad. Also the examples were rather limited. I don't play computer games at all myself - so I did not know what to propose to him.