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Originally Posted by chris31
Java doesnt run on PICs by default. Plus Microchip is a sponsor of FIRST. I think that they hope with there donation of Mplab that they assume some people will grow to use and like it and then use PICs and there C compiler for personal and buisness projects..
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There is actually a project people are working on to slave VEX controllers to a Java board
here. If you check out Systronix's
website, you'll see that it has a lot of potential and could be used for things that the PIC controller wouldn't be able to.
I'd just be really dissapointed if FIRST stays with C instead of progressing to a newer technology only because of one of their sponsors wants them to... doesn't really seem like something FIRST stands for.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by TomBottiglieri
Java isnt built to run on small embedded devices. The main point of Java is to provide cross platform compatibility. When you compile a Java program, it does not compile to straight machine code, as a C program does. It compiles to whats called Java Byte Code, which then has to be run through an interpreter to be turned into machine code your processor can understand. Based on your system (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, UNIX, etc..) you will need a different interpreter. We are all using the same system in FIRST, so there is no need for that level of abstraction. Java is one of the slowest languages out there, and when developing for embedded devices you want to strive for speed and efficiency.
The reason AP CS is taught in Java is for its wide range of compatibility, and the fact it is an object oriented language which is built off the idea of classes. While your final product may be slow and limited, the programming methods you must use to create applications is very robust and practical. The AP CS class doesn't exist to teach you Java, but rather to teach good programming techniques in an object oriented language.
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Java SE and EE may be slow (you should look at server vm benchmarks though), but I think the CLDC Micro Edition is faster than C on the PIC processor...