Which language should we program in

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by gixxy

Labview is quick to learn and a visual language. Its more connect the dots to control the robot.

It sounds like you might be thinking about NXT-G or RobotC, not LabVIEW. Yes, LabVIEW is visual programming, but it's "real" programming (rather than just plugging in predefined routines in a restricted environment the way "connect the dots" makes it sound).

However it is High Level and that can cause a decreased performance. (I believe Labview is fully interpreted. Please correct me if I am wrong)

Okay. You're wrong. LabVIEW programs get compiled into native machine code, just like C/C++ programs.

I won't nitpick your descriptions of the other languages.

We chose Java because I had a little experience with it and the others on the Programming team felt they had enough confidence to do it, and boy it worked out for us!

The conventional wisdom is to go with what your mentors know. I'm not going to contradict that, but I will say it's not strictly necessary. When the TechnoKats decided to use LabVIEW, the decision was made based on ease of learning and the level of support available rather than the level of comfort of the programming mentor (me). It was a learning experience for everyone, and I'm glad we did it.