Programming in NQC and NXC

[Ken Schnautz]

All,

I purchased my own LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 2.0 back in 2003. The kit came with the RCX 'brick' (the yellow one) and a USB infrared tower. I programmed that brick relentlessly for a few years, until the NXT came along in all its glory with servo motors and fancy new sensors.

After inspiration from a colleague (you know who you are), I've gotten the urge to blow the dust off the RCX and start programming my RCX using Bricx Command Center in the "Not Quite C" (NQC) language. I hope to also dust off an NXT (if I can get my hands on one) and refresh my memory on "Not eXactly C" (NXC).

For those that aren't aware, NQC and NXC are programming languages for the LEGO Mindstorms  controllers. They let you program C-like code within a text-editor. I've found it far superior to RIS, RoboLab, and the NXT / EV3 drag-and-drop programming environments.

If anyone wishes to join my on this nostalgic, yet very informative journey, I hope to be able to offer some basic NXC training at the upcoming March 2 workshop.

Please reply to this email so I can gauge the interest for March 2.

Thanks!

Ken Schnautz

[Ken Schnautz]

For anyone that wants to begin programming in NQC or NXC, here are the 'official' tutorials for each respective language. You can use these to get a head start for the March 2 workshop.

A few notes:

* NQC is for RCX robots

* NXC is for NXT robots

* there is no EV3 compiler

* RCX are programmed with an infrared 'Tower'. It's drivers only work with 32-bit operating systems. So you'll need to find a computer that can install its 32-bit drivers if you intend to use RCX.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the workshop March 2, where I'll be coving the NXC (NXT) language with Bricx Command Center.

Ken