Subject:
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Re: Limitations in RCX language
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Thu, 7 Jan 1999 06:32:45 GMT
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Original-From:
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David Van Wagner <davevw@alumni.cse.ucsc&spamcake&.edu>
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Viewed:
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3458 times
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I recommend "Gordon's Brick Programmer" as a replacement for the Mindstorms
Programming Environment. Tree view based instead of blocks: point and
click to add commands, drag to move them, allows variables, and nested
loops. No C or Visual Basic programming required!
http://www.umbra.demon.co.uk/gbp.html
-Dave VW
-----Original Message-----
From: David Warnock <david@sundayta.co.uk>
To: Bruce Rhodewalt <lugnet.robotics@lugnet.com>; lego-robotics@crynwr.com
<lego-robotics@crynwr.com>
Date: Monday, January 04, 1999 2:44 PM
Subject: Re: Limitations in RCX language
> Bruce,
>
> > Okay, I'm not nuts. But why haven't I found any other complaints • about this?
> > Nothing in the FAQ or any newsgroups. I fully expected adults to • want to move
> > beyond the interface, and to be capable of it, but what about kids? • Are there
> > just not that many children with LMS so far? I was really excited • about getting
> > my kids' hands on some programming, but it's a bad situation when • an 11-year-old
> > can bump into a wall on her first day.
>
> For what it's worth I agree totally. The Mindstorm programming
> environment is too weak. I put a message up on their web site forum
> detailing some of my problems that I found with my 6 (nearly 7 year
> old).
>
> For example I cannot see why they designed a user interface for
> Windows 95 and later that is fixed at 640x480 resolution. I would have
> thought that most win 95 boxes are running at 800x600 or 1024x768
> these days. We actually use a 21" screen at 1600x1200 and Mindstorms
> looks silly.
>
> Also our kids are used to a standard mouse usage for drag and drop -
> all their games use that. So why does mindstorms have to be different?
> At least standard behaviour should be an option.
>
> I do like the right click to turn over blocks but the user interface
> for typing in numbers (eg wait delay times) is wierd, it's not clear
> when yoiu can type the number.
>
> Then again why oh why are we forced to 8 character filenames on a
> 32bit only application.
>
> Like you I really hope for a major improvement in the next version,
> because this has a lot of the things right and it's not soo much to
> make it really powerful (like an advanced set of blocks with variables
> etc). The nesting could be easily dealt with by forcing use of
> MyCommands, as for limits of 14 blocks in a stack it is crazy.
>
> We also got very confused when a stack of a second sensor started
> executing before the first finished. As you said there is no
> documentation about this. We have reduced the problem by always
> setting directions explicitly rather than using reverse direction.
>
> I had never planned to use the Mindstorm software myself but like you
> I will have to look for something better for the kids before very long
> (as they are so much younger I have a bit more time for lego to get it
> right).
>
> Dave
>
>
> David Warnock
> Sundayta Ltd
> --
> Did you check the web site first?: http://www.crynwr.com/lego-robotics
--
Did you check the web site first?: http://www.crynwr.com/lego-robotics
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Limitations in RCX language
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| I like what I see. However, is there nowhere to add comments to your code? Thanks. Bruce (...) Bruce Rhodewalt aka kahuna@tikipub.com Tiki Publishing: Creative Internet solutions since 1995 74-040 Highway 111, Suite JJ3, Palm Desert, CA 92260 PGP: (...) (28 years ago, 8-Jan-99, to lugnet.robotics)
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