[wireties]

I've been doing this (software/hardware design) for 25 years using languages from assembly through C/C++/Pascal/Modula to PHP/Python and Perl. I've also used a few code generators which is what I think LabView really does. I am pretty sure LabView actually produces C (and maybe C++) source then compiles it. I know it did 15+ years ago. Albeit at a higher level, I too think LabView is really a language (and a very complex one at that) and NI is an awesome company.

Bottom line - you use different languages for different reasons at different times. To mitigate technical risk, it is wise for FIRST teams to use the supported language the mentors know best. Otherwise use LabView because you'll get the best newbie support from NI.

Languages like C and C++ are more powerful and normally faster in embedded systems. They make good programmers better but bad programmers intolerable. The VxWorks kernel is written in C and one can make C literally do anything on a FIRST robot. Java and LabvIew are another step removed, Java goes through the J2ME and LabView is (at least partially) a code generator. These abstractions have potential huge benefits but nothing is free. They are (at least a little bit) slower than C.

That is my 2 cents.