Subject:
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Re: LEGO Purism
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Fri, 9 Aug 2002 00:48:19 GMT
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Original-From:
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Steve Baker <sjbaker1@SPAMLESSairmail.net>
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Reply-To:
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sjbaker1@airmail.NOSPAMnet
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Viewed:
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1724 times
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This purism thing (which I happen to agree with BTW) is a hard thing to pin
down.
I think of it like this. I like building things with Lego - I *know* that I
could do things more easily by machining it from solid metal or casting something
or whatever. But if I did that, it wouldn't be as much fun.
So, where do I draw the line?
* Do I use *only* Lego?
* Do I allow myself non-Lego software components like NQC?
* Do I allow myself to modify my Lego parts?
* Do I use 3rd party (but Lego-like) components?
* Do I freely mix Lego parts with anything else I can use to build with?
* Do I just abandon the Lego parts altogether and build robots in other ways?
It's a slippery slope and once you've taken one step away from the PURE solution,
there is no longer any reason not to go all the way.
In fact, I don't use Lego's software - I use NQC. There are two reasons for that.
Firstly, the Lego software doesn't run under Linux (and I'm a Linux purist too!)
and secondly, the Lego programming environment is **HORRIBLE** if you are 'A
Real Programmer'.
I can justify this position because NQC generates byte-code that could equally
have been generated by Lego's firmware. The end result (the robot) is just
the same - it's just been constructed unconventionally. This is no different
(in principle) from using a pocket knife to prise apart two reticent parts
instead of using the official Lego 'brick unsticker' tool.
Once a majority of people are off using totally non-Lego solutions, all of this
carefully constructed community of AFOL's falls apart. We can't discuss solutions
when most of us don't have the non-Lefo parts that are being talked about, I
can't reproduce your clever tricks because I don't have the strange components
you used. We couldn't communicate CAD using the various LDraw systems out there.
The community would rapidly disintegrate.
----------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------------
Mail : <sjbaker1@airmail.net> WorkMail: <sjbaker@link.com>
URLs : http://www.sjbaker.org
http://plib.sf.net http://tuxaqfh.sf.net http://tuxkart.sf.net
http://prettypoly.sf.net http://freeglut.sf.net
http://toobular.sf.net http://lodestone.sf.net
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: LEGO Purism
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| If you were a Lego purist, you'd be using the programming software which was supplied in the RIS kits. "The Gaff" <lego-robotics@crynwr.com> wrote in message news:OE50nHAaaz7EjQx...ail.com... (...) as (...) constraints (...) find (...) build (...) (...) (22 years ago, 8-Aug-02, to lugnet.robotics)
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