Quote:
Originally Posted by EricH
Note: I'm a mechanical guy.
To me, the value of default code is that it gives a base. You can look at it to get a model. You can use it as a base to build on.
But the REAL value is that it gets the robot running early, if there is a mechanical and electrical system ready for it. That alone is enough to make a case for a default code. (And, if you don't have a programmer... you can still survive.)
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Eric more or less hit my points, but by a different route.
To me, the ideal default code is a well-documented one (a la Vex or the old IFI FRC controllers). Just as I can look at a drivetrain and see why we're throwing chains, I can look at an ideal default code, verify that left-drive is in PWM 1, right drive is in PWM 2, the pressure switch is in DIO 1, etc., etc., and that It Will Work. If it does not work, we can eliminate a lot of things.
Granted, the requirements to set up IP addresses may make it impossible to have the no-computer-required-ever simplicity of yore. Next-best thing would be to have the out-of-box cRIO able to run a testing mode and talk to the driver station software (which would look for a default IP and run with it with a big "HEY DUDE, YOU'RE IN TEST MODE – DOWNLOAD REAL CODE BEFORE COMPETITION" warning on the dashboard). At least then you can putt the thing around for testing or a demo.