[synth3tk]

I don't know (or care) if it's "the best", but we used Java. Our three (3!!!) student programmers either left, or didn't return, and none of the freshmen had no desire to learn programming at all. So I was stuck with the role. While we had default/leftover code from previous years written in other languages, myself and the team mentor decided to use Java. Randomly.

I'll tell you what, though, I knew absolutely nothing of Java as of January 9th, 2010, beside the fact that it's a programming language. That first week of build, I started learning the syntax, rules, and studied the default code. By week 4, the robot drove, and the pneumatic kicker worked. Had I been given more than 2-3 days of exclusive access to the robot, I probably would have had a nice autonomous working.


Also, quick note, never count out other languages, ever. Sure, you may love the most popular language used, but knowing X or Y may cost you a job/project.