Subject:
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Re: Why [no single language] is good for Mindstorms
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Thu, 26 Jan 2006 11:23:25 GMT
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Viewed:
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2239 times
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In lugnet.robotics, Steve Hassenplug wrote:
> On Wed, January 25, 2006 4:49 pm, John Hansen wrote:
> > In lugnet.robotics, Steve Hassenplug wrote:
> > > However, I don't
> > > agree that either LEGO's RIS software or RoboLab is unstable.
> >
> > Did you use RIS 1.0 and RoboLab 1.0? Did you ever try to use events in RoboLab?
> > Here are links to the bugs fixed in service packs just since version 2.5 was
> > released.
> >
> > http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/robolabatceeo/downloads/Service_Pack/servicepack1bugs.asp
> >
> > http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/robolabatceeo/downloads/Service_Pack/pack12bugs.asp
> >
> > http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/robolabatceeo/Downloads/Service_Pack/RL254_CPatch.asp
...snip...
>
> If there WAS any type of language that was "best" we wouldn't be having this
> discussion.
Steve, I totally agree with you.
A few remarks:
1. There doesn't exist any non-buggy programming language.
2. There doesn't exist any best language. The reason that different languages
exist is that there are different people at different times doing different
things in different environments for different purposes with different
approaches.
3. From the text languages in an educational environment, I largely - but really
largely - prefer DELPHI (Turbo PASCAL) to C++ or #. But, when writing low-level
applications, C is the better choice. Normally kids don't write such
applications. I have on my desk a German discussion paper with a long list of
strong arguments, why the author prefers PASCAL to C. He compares weak points to
other weak points and performence to performence.
4. Graphical programming: LabVIEW from NI (remember that NXT software is being
developed by NI !) is a very, very stable and powerful programming environment.
This is why it is one of the most spreading industrial software tools. Those NI
guys are perfectionists and be assured that NXT software will be something very
special, stable and powerful.
5. ROBOLAB: This software is the result of University research. The goal was to
dispose of a powerful, easy teachable didactical tool that targets different
LEGO programmable devices, especially the RCX. The enormous success demonstrated
both in popularity and sales, several international didactical prices have
sufficiently proven that it is the right direction.
6. Starting from the ROBOLAB structures we have developed Ultimate ROBOLAB and
PICLab (our work-name was MPASM), a similar still un-published software to
program PIC micro-controllers. We proved that low-level graphical programming is
possible. This is new-land, experimentation, but once you are familiar with the
graphical code, you program things that others didn't do with other
environments. Here a short list:
- GASTON, which at my knowledge still is the most complicated Mindstorms robot
of the globe, works in perfect stability in Luxembourg Museum of Natural
History. GASTON has been realized by my students. The complex sound-localization
sensor has been programmed with PICLab. GASTON has been programmed with standard
ROBOLAB by kids!!!
- Ultimate ROBOLAB has allowed to program the world's first RCX virus.
- Brown's Tower of Hanoi solver has received a recursive solution on the RCX
though Ultimate ROBOLAB. (BrickOS does not allow recursive functions.) But the
most important thing is that kids could program this.
... Scrutinize the Internet and look what people realized with ROBOLAB in
education.
7. Every programming language needs a structured plan describing the way to a
correct program execution. ROBOLAB is both the structured plan and the program
code. Finally the kids have learned how to program. Then they will learn other
languages, if necessary. They will learn the 10 programming Commandments among
which "You shall not use GOTO". They will learn that there are variable types
and..., but most of them won't learn that at all. But they will once program
there video recorder or their dish-washer or in a few years their personal
robot. There will be graphical ways for non-professional programmers to program
robots, computers. So, what they really need to know, is how to program modern
objects.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Why [no single language] is good for Mindstorms
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| (...) Version 3.3.7.10 (2005-10-05) Version 3.3.7.7 Version 3.3.7.6 (2003-10-27) Version 3.3.7.5 (2003-05-22) Version 3.3.7.4 (2003-03-24) Version 3.3.7.3 (2003-03-07) Version 3.3.7.2 (2003-02-12) Version 3.3.7.1 (2003-01-16) Version 3.3.6.6 (...) (19 years ago, 26-Jan-06, to lugnet.robotics)
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