Subject:
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Re: intro and question
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Mon, 17 Jun 2002 03:18:41 GMT
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Original-From:
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Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail!IHateSpam!.net>
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Reply-To:
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{sjbaker1@airmail.}antispam{net}
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Viewed:
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651 times
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Jim Choate wrote:
> > Learning to program on an 'embedded system' like a robot is really much
> > harder than learning on a conventional computer system because the only
> > way you have to see what's going on is by looking at what the motors
> > do in response to the sensors.
>
> I have to disagree strongly. Learning to program is hard, irrespective of
> the system. Whether the system is embedded or not doesn't effect the
> control structures, data structures, and algorithms that a programmer must
> learn.
The problem with learning on an embedded system is not *what* you have to
learn - its *how* you have to learn it.
If you make any of a dozen basic programming mistakes on an RCX, what's
going to happen? Well, maybe a motor will turn on when it should have
turned off - maybe the RCX just sits there and nothing happens...now what?
How does someone with a simple misunderstanding *ever* figure out what they
did wrong?
At least on a 'normal' computer, you have a debugger - you can insert
print statements...it's a *LOT* easier to find your silly initial mistakes.
> I learned on a system I built from parts in 1976 that was 6800 based and
> had a whopping 256 bytes of RAM.
Yep - and I learned on a system that required me to write out my programs
on "coding forms", post them to the regional computing center, wait until
the key punch operators had time to key my code in, wait until the machine
finished running payrole to run my program (in FORTRAN IV), then print out
the results - which were posted back to me.
If I was lucky, I got to turn around a program in a week.
(And I also built a 6800-based machine from scratch with 256 bytes of RAM
and a 30 byte boot ROM).
Yes, it's *POSSIBLE* to learn to program under extremely adverse conditions,
but why would you when you have modern technology to help out?
> Learn on what you got.
But get what you need...heck you can even get it for free.
----------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------------
Mail : <sjbaker1@airmail.net> WorkMail: <sjbaker@link.com>
URLs : http://www.sjbaker.org
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: intro and question
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| (...) You change a bit, ask questions, re-write the code to solve the problem differently. Then go back and figure out what conceptual mistake was made the first time through. This is EXACTLY the same process you go through on a PC. (...) By trying (...) (22 years ago, 17-Jun-02, to lugnet.robotics)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: intro and question
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| (...) I have to disagree strongly. Learning to program is hard, irrespective of the system. Whether the system is embedded or not doesn't effect the control structures, data structures, and algorithms that a programmer must learn. I learned on a (...) (22 years ago, 16-Jun-02, to lugnet.robotics)
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