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Subject: 
Re: "Non-Robolab" LabView functions
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics.rcx.robolab
Date: 
Sun, 30 Nov 2003 17:35:19 GMT
Viewed: 
10296 times
  
As to LabVIEW behind ROBOLAB, you must be aware that ROBOLAB is in fact a
"code-generator" creating LASM-code from icons. This is comparable to RIS, but
much more efficient. The power of this graphical tool is that kids and
youngsters easily may program the RCX without dealing with text-programming
orthography. Of course the icons must be used correctly -also a kind of grammar-
but much easier to understand and to use.

I disagree that it's easier to understand and use.  Possibly easier to learn or
figure out without documentation, up to a point.  But ease of learning is not
the same as ease of use.

Graphical tools may be helpful for interface design for a program to be run in a
graphical environment, but they are a poor choice for other aspects of
programming.

Disagree. It's a matter of habitudes. Once you're familiar with the whole
environment, you may write extremely complex programs without getting lost. For
example, in our recent "Mars-mission" telerobotics project the complete
programming -the TCP/IP server included- has been written(drawn) in Labview
without any problem. If we'd done this in Java or C, we'd had plenty of
problems. To note, that we started with Java and had almost finished, when real
complicated problems could not be fixed with Java, but with Labview. Sounds
nice, he.... But I don't want to play the missionary here. That's not the point.
You are fan of your preferred language. That's like having a car: Oh, Mercedes
is a better car... Depends on what you want to do with.
Another advantage is the completeness
of ROBOLAB in programming, evaluating, debugging, publishing. This makes it the
best didactical tool for Mindstorms in schools. (Note also that LabVIEW runs on
all platforms.)

LabView is a well-written and powerful tool, though I wish it didn't extend the
graphical programming paradigm beyond the "front panel".  Fortunately, though,
it does at least offer some opportunity to specify some text-based constructs.

Did you see Labview7. That's incredible.
It's just an entirely inappropriate base for an RCX programming system.  The RCX
Disagree!!! We use to program our micro-controllers with a ROBOLAB-like program,
with great success. We tried the experiment. We compared the programming speed
with C++ and our graphical tool for some tests. The graphical won the race.
is a non-graphical device with very limited I/O, so even the value of graphical
programming for screen interface is gone.  "Wiring" together program statements
just becomes so much spaghetti!

You can program spaghetti everywhere.
If you try to use LabVIEW-functions like the triangular decrement icon, you must
understand that these functions applie to the PC-programm, e.a. the
code-generation process. So the decrement icon will act on the way, the
container-icon is understood by ROBOLAB, not on the container-value itself while
the RCX-program will be executed later.

Sounds like a C preprocessor.  So, only use them for constants?

This sounds a bit confusing. Perhaps you
should try to find more tutorial information on the Web about LabVIEW in
general.

I looked at everything available before asking.  The LabView manual is
comprehensive but doesn't have anything to do with the RCX.  The Robolab
"manual" is very limited and vaguely worded.

In any case LabVIEW is one of the most sophisticated
programming-environments, especially the new version LabVIEW 7 Express. If you
start playing around with it, you'll discover tremendous possibilities in
RCX-programming. Note that ROBOLAB (2.5) is based on a student's edition of
LabVIEW 6.

LabView is good for what it was written for: simulating and controlling lab
instruments.

and far beyond.
....last post to that subject.



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: "Non-Robolab" LabView functions
 
(...) Still waiting to hear from Dick about that. (...) I disagree that it's easier to understand and use. Possibly easier to learn or figure out without documentation, up to a point. But ease of learning is not the same as ease of use. Graphical (...) (21 years ago, 30-Nov-03, to lugnet.robotics.rcx.robolab)

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