A question on different programming languages

[2185Bilal]

I would say not to have your programers learn both of languages. I say mostly based on the fact that Labview and Java are entirely different languages. The question of weather choosing one over the other, choose wat ever language your programmers are interested in or have more experience in.
As far as my experience goes Labview can be used for people who are new to FIRST. Java can used for more experienced users. Like i used labview in my first year. But next year i plan on using java


I hope this helped and if it didnt oh well.

[Jon Stratis]

I think that it's important for the learning process to tackle one language at a time. There's less confusion that way, and it's always easier (and quicker) to learn the second language than the first.

As for using both languages during the build season... you can only load one onto the robot at a time. Given the high amount of stress and low amount of time to debug during the season, I don't recommend trying to switch back and forth between languages - pick one, stick with it, and make that particular code as good as you possibly can. To learn the second language, have them rewrite the code in the second language during the off season. That will give them time to learn it, a good project to use, and it will help highlight the differences for your team.

[Alan Anderson]

It's perfectly fine to use Java on the robot and use LabVIEW for a custom Dashboard. Or to use either for something entirely different such as a scouting application or a pit display. Just don't expect to be switching back and forth between one and the other for your robot code. I think you'll be a lot more productive choosing one and sticking with it.

[JDNovak]

We were a beta test team the year this control system was rolled out and we had two programming teams. One developed the whole robot code in Labview and the other in C++. As long as the developments are on separate computers, each can generate unique code and download to one target Crio. Then, using the imaging tool and selecting the opposite target language and rebooting is all it takes to switch from running one to the other. We had no problem working concurrently and helping with each other's development problems.

On the other hand, this was with a robot that had already been developed and debugged. I wouldn't think that debugging the controls and hardware of a new robot would be easy with the added complication of two source programs to debug. I would only do this with a developed test bed as the target.