Seeking advice for rookie programming

[BenBernard]

Originally Posted by SoftwareBug2.0

Actually, I do end up in other teams pits from time to time when they have code issues. I suppose that how willing other teams are to help may depend on your region. PNW (where I am) tends to be pretty friendly and I would expect that the midwest (where the OP is) would be as well.

I think you misunderstood my point. I have also spent a fair amount of time in other teams' pits helping with code--but they were rarely neighboring teams! My point is simply that the fact that other teams in the OP's area are using C++ may not be super-relevant, as they may not be at the same competitions. By the same token, no matter which language a team chooses, there's likely to be SOMEONE around to help in a pinch.

That said--you really don't want to be too dependent when other teams are likely to have their own issues to deal with.

[AlexanderTheOK]

I've found the best language is the one that the team knows. If your mentors know c++ you should use c++. If your mentors are familiar with Java, you should use Java. Having access to a living encyclopedia on a subject is insanely useful. I say this having been both a student and a mentor.

"oh hey I wonder how to do this thing."
"Java has a thing for that."

VS

"oh hey I wonder how to do this thing."
commences googling and experimenting for an hour/ 5 hours.

[Joe Ross]

The APIs between C++ and Java are almost identical. Thus, a C++ team would be able to help you get started with encoders, for example. I help C++ teams all the time, even though my understanding of C++ is rudimentary.

[MuskieProgramme]

Thanks for all the advice! We have decided to use Java, as our mentor knows both Java and C++, and the FTC Team will continue to produce Java programmers.

I will look into Command Based programming. It seems very similar to a system I was imagining implementing for FTC, until LinearOpMode was updated to be less irritating. I've installed eclipse (& all the 2016 stuff), and have started to take a look at the sample robot code. It's not particularly difficult to navigate eclipse and it seems similar enough to IntelliJ that I won't have many problems.

[GreyingJay]

Once you've installed wpilib, there are some great little example programs you can access by creating a new project and selecting a new wpilib robot project. (I don't have it in front of me but you should find it easily).

If you needed to quickly whip up some code to test a drivetrain, for example, you could fire up Eclipse and have a basic IterativeRobot with a 2-joystick tank drive, ready to deploy, in a matter of about 30 seconds. Which has come in handy a few times when doing diagnostics in a hurry, such as in a pit.

But more practically, you can find examples of just about anything you need to do, either by browsing the wpilib website or creating a sample project to play with. "How do I use pneumatics?" Boom, here's a working example.