Programmers: I Have A Challenge For You

[Greg McKaskle]

I'll try to sum up the icon and compile thing quickly so as not to interrupt the design of SkyNet.

My claim is simply that the machine instructions contained in those clumps almost certainly were produced by a traditional compiler using a traditional text-based programming language -- quite likely C.

Textual representation of machine code is usually called assembly code. The actual machine code is in fact a sequence of bytes, but not human readable in the slightest. The LV product contains a compiler which writes machine instructions into memory based on the passes over the graph -- no calls to gcc or asm, nothing up the sleeve.

There are actually numerous ways for LV to target a platform, the compiler is the most common, another is a bytecode/VM method used for small targets such as the NXT, and the third is a translator that does produce C or VHDL to more quickly be able to use vendor specific tools. So while this is a way LV to target VxWorks, it is not the method being used.

As for icons replacing text, I don't think that is the right comparison to make. In fact text is just a sequence of graphics. Textual and mathematical language is just as abstract, if not more so, than a drawing.

The issue is the expressiveness of the programming language. Would you rather write down a paragraph about the sunset or snap a photo? Is a map better than directions? Is a picture of food better than a recipe? It all depends on what you are trying to do. IMO, the best environment would let you pick based on the task. Did I mention that LV has had a formula box since 1.0?

And now ... back to SkyNet.

Greg McKaskle