Subject:
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Re: lego-robotics / question for the experienced...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Tue, 16 Sep 2003 01:23:33 GMT
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Viewed:
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915 times
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In article <09E68B3A-E5B2-11D7-BBA9-000393ACAB14@earthlink.net>,
lego-robotics@crynwr.com (Ed) wrote:
> hi all. first post here. i'm sure this doesn't happen often, but my
> reason for buying the ris 2.0 system is because a friend told me it'd
> be a fun intro to computer programming. as i eagerly await shipment of
> my kit, i'd like to pick your brains for some tips. should i jump
> straight into NQC (my programming background is little to none) or
> should i play with the lego programming environment at first? are
> there sample robots designed with the purpose of learning programming
> in mind? has anyone had success stories in learning the basics of
> computer programming using an ris kit? thanks for the time.
For people who have already done a little programming (especially in
Java or C), NQC is very easy to pick up. However, NQC isn't a good
first langauge. The problem is that you're trying to learn two things
at once: how to break an idea down into simple steps for the RCX, and
how to express those steps in NQC. For the novice, the constant syntax
error messages from the NQC compiler can be very frustrating.
With a graphical programming system (such as the Lego RCX Code
software), there aren't any syntax errors. You drag blocks around,
stack them up, enter different parameters, etc. This is a great way to
learn how to translate your ideas into simple RCX commands. After a
while you may find that RCX Code is a bit cumbersome and/or limited, and
then you can move to something more advanced such as NQC.
Most of the projects in "Definitive Guide to Lego Mindstorms" include
both RCX Code and NQC programs. Looking at the two different versions
side by side can be a good way to learn NQC once you're comfortable with
RCX Code. You don't need to buy the book itself - all of the sample
programs can be downloaded from http://www.apress.com.
Dave Baum
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | lego-robotics / question for the experienced...
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| hi all. first post here. i'm sure this doesn't happen often, but my reason for buying the ris 2.0 system is because a friend told me it'd be a fun intro to computer programming. as i eagerly await shipment of my kit, i'd like to pick your brains for (...) (21 years ago, 13-Sep-03, to lugnet.robotics)
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