Not eXactly C

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

Announcing Not eXactly C (NXC), a C-like programming language for the standard NXT firmware. Not eXactly C is built into the latest NBC compiler. If the source code file has a .nxc extension, then NBC processes the code using the NXC parser before compiling the resulting NBC assembly code. NXC is the only C-like programming solution available on Win32, Mac OSX, and Linux platforms.

http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nbc/

The latest test release of BricxCC also features additional support for the NXC language.

http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/test_release.zip

Some of the features already present in NXC are:

- string variables and string literals with support for concatenation.
- while, do-while, if/else, repeat, and for loop programming constructs.
- asm block statement for writing NBC code within NXC.
- Lots of API functions for drawing, reading sensors, controlling motors, button state, etc. (More are on the way)

Posted in development, news, Programming | 8 Comments »

Now Available - Microsoft Robotics Studio v1.0

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

Microsoft has released the first version of Robotics Studio!

New since November’s CTP:

Security Support
Security is now fully implemented and turned on by default. It is fully functional for HTTP and TCP transports.

Simulation Scenario Editing
We have added an interface for editing entities and creating scenarios scenes (configurations) directly from the Visual Simulation Environment. Now you can easily select, reposition, rotate, or add entities.

More Documentation and Tutorials
We’ve revised and added more documentation. We’ve also added some new tutorials, including tutorial demonstrating a fully distributed application and a Visual Programming Language tutorial that demonstrates how to use it to program simulated robots.

Visual Programming Language Configuration of Services
You can now configure the services you use in VPL directly or by using another service. This is in addition to using manifests. VPL now enables you to compile your project and any related, user-defined activities as services. This means you can create your own add-on services for use with VPL or other programming languages. An option even enables you to generate a C# project.

Services Improvements
We improved a lot of our sample services and their XSLTs.

Posted in development, news, software | 2 Comments »

01/01/07

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

openNXT - Can’t say much now, but this will be huge.

Posted in news | 4 Comments »

Power Users Behold!

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

I’m over in San Fran this week, so I apologize for getting up to speed on today’s news so late. If you haven’t heard, LEGO Systems is offering a wonderful promotion stateside!

On the fence about whether to get your very own NXT? Or considering adding a second kit to your collection? Our friends at Energizer are helping us deliver a holiday bonus for MINDSTORMS NXT buyers. Visit www.nxtpowerpack.com to see details of a special offer, running now through December 31, 2006, where you can get an exclusive NXT Power Pack – a light sensor, touch sensor and 8-pack of Energizer e2 Lithium AA batteries (a $50 total value) – for free with proof of purchase of a MINDSTORMS NXT unit between December 1 and December 31, 2006 from select retailers. Click here to get the details, and Happy Holidays from your friends at LEGO Systems and Energizer!

[via LEGO Systems Inc.]

Posted in hardware, news | 1 Comment »