PROGRAMMERS: WIND RIVER C++ vs LABVIEW vs JAVA

[lemiant]

Originally Posted by grimmcoder

Hello All,
I think I will be the lead programmer next year and want to decide on a good language to use. This year we used LabVIEW and I really liked how it worked and how easy it was to use. Another member in the club who does not program for the club is very fluent in Java but does not program for the club. I saw his code, and it was easy to read, but could not figure out how to write it. My Dad and this last years leads Dad both know C++ and if we decide to go with that they can teach Me and any other members that are interested in programming next year. There are a a few Mentors that want to use C++ and a few wanting to use LabVIEW. I can see where the mentors wanting to do C++ are coming from, but I personally would like to use LabVIEW and so would the 2 Senior Programmers that are moving on. Please reply with feedback on my LabVIEW vs. C++ dilemma.
Thank You,
grimmcoder

Its probably just my opinion (and the fact our programmer was really inexperienced), but C is REALLY hard to read, compared to Java (and I would assume labview as well).

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by grimmcoder

Please reply with feedback on my LabVIEW vs. C++ dilemma.

What's the dilemma? As the lead programmer, your preference should be the one with the most weight. I know you said that some mentors have other preferences, but is there anyone who is actually arguing against what you want?

[grimmcoder]

Well I guess no one is arguing against Me, just what they want to use because it would be better in the future, which I understand. I just want to go with which one would be best for the team and for the future of the team. At this point i can go any way I want, LabVIEW, Java, C++, I have the resources available to Me to learn a lot about each, I'm just not sure which way I should go and was hoping for more opinions. One idea I had was to try all 3 over the summer in a robotics setting and see which i like best, but thats just one idea and I'm open to any.

[grimmcoder]

Any other ideas? I'm open to any!

[remulasce]

Python! Check the subforum, under programming.

[lemiant]

Originally Posted by remulasce

Python! Check the subforum, under programming.

You can program the robot in PYTHON?!?!?!?!?!?

[Kusha]

Java, since it was my first language. Plus it's easier to use. IMO Labview is only good for debugging, but ...different to use.

[remulasce]

Originally Posted by lemiant

You can program the robot in PYTHON?!?!?!?!?!?

Ayup. http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=89185

[lemiant]

Originally Posted by remulasce

Ayup. http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=89185

Is there any good way of doing debugging with it?

[remulasce]

Print to NetConsole, or save a log to the CRIO.

[grimmcoder]

I'm really debating on going with C++ or LabVIEW. Any opinions between the two?

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by grimmcoder

I'm really debating on going with C++ or LabVIEW. Any opinions between the two?

I'm a big fan of LabVIEW. The LabVIEW support FRC gets from National Instruments and WPI is wonderful. I also think it's a lot easier to work on a program as a group when the program is a dataflow diagram instead of a bunch of text.

C++ is great for someone who can get all the little syntactical details consistently right, but I'm not that someone. I find it way too easy to make subtle typing errors that result in a program that compiles without errors but doesn't work as intended.

[JamesBrown]

Originally Posted by grimmcoder

I'm really debating on going with C++ or LabVIEW. Any opinions between the two?

I agree with Alan (I find that is usually the case).

LabVIEW is the easiest language to use out of the three. It is simple to debug, simple to explain, and it just works. I love LabVIEW and am yet to see a real good argument against using it in any of these threads (with the exception of a situation where all of the team’s programmers are accomplished in using another language). There are a lot of people who believe that LV is not a real language or that it isn't really programming, this is garbage, LV is as capable as any other language we use, it is faster to code with, easier to debug, and you can easily show someone who doesn’t know how to code what the programming is doing in LV.

C++ is still my favorite language for programming outside of FIRST. It was my first programming language and even now that I have more in my tool box I still find myself going back to it all the time. I write in C++ all day at work, I am very comfortable with the language, with memory management (which isn't as difficult as many people in this thread seem to think) and with syntax. However I can't program in C++ as efficiently (based on time taken to code/debug) as I can in LV. I have seen quite a few of the most respected mentors on the forums come around to LabVIEW and that has really helped to solidify my support of using it.

I used to be one of the students who thought a graphical programming language wasn't true coding. Easy-C (which is good in its own right but is miles behind LV in terms of completeness) was new and many teams were going to it, I told my mentors that programming in Easy-C compared to C was like filling in a coloring book compared to writing a novel. This was a terrible comparison, C++ vs LabVIEW is like painting a room with a small brush vs using a paint roller, one is much faster and more efficient, and once your done no one will be able to tell the difference.

[Ether]

Originally Posted by JamesBrown

like painting a room with a small brush vs using a paint roller, one is much faster and more efficient, and once your done no one will be able to tell the difference.

You've not done much painting I imagine :-)

[JamesBrown]

Originally Posted by Ether

You've not done much painting I imagine :-)

...won't be able to tell the difference from a distance?


I'll just have to add painting to the list of things Ether knows more about than I do, that list now consists of "everything about robotics" and painting.