Java vs Labview

[Pault]

Originally Posted by xXhunter47Xx

I like Line-based programming more than Labview, because for me it offers much more versatility to the program.
The reason I chose to do Labview this year was because I'm a first year programming leader, we were 3 weeks into the 6 week period, and the library was being non-compliant. My programming mentor did not mind, he really only wanted us to do what was comfortable and at that moment in time it was much more comfortable to get working code in a day than spending a week bugging out a library with only 3 weeks left.
Added to that, I had mechanical mentors yell at me for not finishing code when the robot was barely being built, and that I was not working fast enough.
Labview got them their beloved code fairly quickly.
And yet I still get flak for choosing labview, even though the robot probably wouldn't even work if I didn't.
I never win.

Anyways I digress, I say if you know labview well, as in subvi's and quick implementation, go for it. It's a neat little program for robot building, and if you're really good at it you can get a robot working in a couple days.
If you know line based code, go for Java/C++ instead. But be prepared ahead of time, because I thought I knew line based code and so did my underling, and we were extremely confused with the library. If you want to do Java next season, I suggest getting the hang of it now.

Was this because of bugs with the library causing it to not work, or just that you didn't know how to use it?

I have had the opposite experience: I can code a robot in Java significantly faster and better than in LabVIEW. Despite having more experience with LabVIEW.

As for which is easier to pick up if you are already into the build season: I think it depends on your robot. If you are going to need to make some complex code with PID and sensor feedback and a lengthy autonomous, Java is the way to go. 1-2 hours watching Brad Miller's youtube playlist on using robotbuilder, and your ready to dive in. But for more simple code, LabVIEW is probably easier to learn the basics due to its more self-explanatory structure.