Quote:
Originally posted by Matt Leese
The reason against switching to Java is the same complexity that some seem to be a good thing. Java is much more complex than PBasic. Namely, the Object Oriented nature of Java makes it quite a bit more complex to learn than PBasic. It also requires a knowledge of functions/methods, encapsulation, data hiding, and quite a few other things. It's unlikely that the default program code would not take advantage of this. There would also be numerous more runtime errors that would have to dealt with. The main issue is that a number of teams have problems with getting the programming to work now. FIRST is not going to change the programming situation unless it's an optional change (think the same way that the electronics board was added this year). From someone who teaches Java to college students, it's not going to be nearly as easy to get high school students to learn it quickly.
Matt
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Although a lot of what you said is true, people don't necessarily have to program in object oriented fashion. They can still program their entire bot as a stream of commands within the main() function. It's possible to do that, although it goes against everything that Java stands for. Once you take that stuff out, you have an easier form of Pbasic. Ultimately, Java is easier because PBASIC has so many mathematical limitations. I can see that the transfer from PBASIC to Java may be confusing, but learning the mangled form of Java I described would be easy.
Java would give the more advanced programmers much more flexibility in what they can do. The biggest advancement in the Javalin stamp is TIME! Yes, the Javalin can tell differences in time. Differences as small as 8 microseconds, I believe. Another big thing is multitasking. You can set an operation to be performed every x number of seconds and continue chugging away at robot code until x number of seconds has passed.
You are contradicting yourself. You have high school students building mechanical transmissions rivaling some automobiles. Some students use sophisticated CAD software and automated mills to create complex parts for their robot. Yet you say that FIRST students are incapable of learning simple Java? Bah.
I took Intro to Java in my Senior year of High School at the local University. 4 credit class. I passed with an A. It was a rather fun class, I fell asleep a lot, but the labs were interesting. To some people it may have seemed difficult, because they weren't motivated.
However, in all practicality, I highly doubt Innovation FIRST would make the switch. I'd be really happy if they did, but I doubt it would happen, mainly because the EduRobot is already programmed in PBasic, and I don't think they'd want to confuse the Rookies. If anything, they'd give them the preseason to learn it.