Any help with programming?

[Alan Anderson]

I've been a CSA at several competition events, and I try to keep track of what languages are being used. The first couple of years with the cRIO, they seemed about evenly spread, with Java trailing by a small amount. In the next few years, on average, LabVIEW and Java were each represented near 40%, with C++ teams making up the remaining 20%. Recently, Java seems to be increasing in popularity, at the expense of both of the other languages.

My impression is that C++ is much more popular among the "elite/powerhouse" teams. LabVIEW tends to be the language of choice for teams lacking either strong programming mentorship or school computer science courses. Java is used in Project Lead The Way, and that's what I think is driving its increased adoption.

For the kind of group programming we end up doing on the TechnoKats, I prefer LabVIEW. I find that it's much easier for people to get a sense for what the code is doing when they can "see" it instead of having to "read" it. The inherent parallel processing makes it less complicated to keep things modular, and there's a big win in keeping simple typographical errors from being an issue.

The comprehensive example code and tutorials included with LabVIEW for FRC are also a big factor in making it the programming environment I would suggest for a team without an experienced C++ or Java mentor.