Author Topic: Help needed with C software  (Read 2217 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Equium DuoTopic starter

  • Beginner
  • *
  • Posts: 6
  • Helpful? 0
Help needed with C software
« on: June 20, 2009, 05:07:56 PM »
Hi,
I have just joined the forum after a long time interest in robotics, i have dabbled with RC controlled safety equipment(see below) in the past but i am now looking into autonomous robots!

So i like many before me am starting with the roboduino $50 robot since i see it as a better investment long term with regards to the roboduino's better feature list, sorry admin :P

So I have ordered everything i need (from ebay) and i think i got  a good deal on the roboduino since it came with an optional motor control board as-well. But the problem i am having, and hence the choosing of this forum and not the misc was the programming language. I have ordered myself a copy of 'C for beginners' to try and get to grips with the language and how the structures work etc. but so far i am really struggling to find a suitable working environment to play in. i downloaded a C compiler and i am having problems with how fast the dam screen flashes up and in general suspect it is not working correctly Icc - win32 is the program if you're interested.

A thought then occurred to asked the seasoned vets of SOR and ask for their advice and guidance as too what programming software (C editor/complier) to use? What do you use and who do you reccomend?

On a side note i am using Windows Vista, i feel like i should get myself a old laptop running XP or will vista be OK for my current needs?

Thanks in advance!

Equium
Logged

Offline Razor Concepts

  • Supreme Robot
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,856
  • Helpful? 53
    • RazorConcepts
Re: Help needed with C software
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2009, 05:22:52 PM »
If you did not get an ISP programmer, you will have to program through Arduino since the bootloader on the Roboduino only works with the Arduino software.
Logged

Offline Equium DuoTopic starter

  • Beginner
  • *
  • Posts: 6
  • Helpful? 0
Re: Help needed with C software
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2009, 05:32:22 PM »
Yeah i hvae not commited to buying that yet, but it looks to be  aworthy investment?

I am looking to buy stuff that will be of use when i get a bit more experianced. Would an ISP programmer be a good idea?
Logged

Offline Razor Concepts

  • Supreme Robot
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,856
  • Helpful? 53
    • RazorConcepts
Re: Help needed with C software
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2009, 05:41:53 PM »
An ISP programmer is a good idea in the long run, but you won't need one right away. With an ISP programmer you can use AVR Studio 4, the software in shown in the $50 robot tutorial. That is "true c" kind of programming, and is helpful to know for processor intensive things and using different microcontrollers besides the ones Arduino supports.

Basically, since you already have bought the Roboduino, you can just skip the ISP programmer and just bootload with Arduino. The advantage of Arduino is that it has a lot of different libraries that make use of all the different features available on the Arduino/Roboduino boards.
Logged

Offline Webbot

  • Expert Roboticist
  • Supreme Robot
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,165
  • Helpful? 111
    • Webbot stuff
Re: Help needed with C software
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2009, 06:33:21 PM »
The AVR Studio IDE along with the avr-gcc compiler tools gives you a free environment for writing, debugging and downloading your apps.

I also use the plugins for C and AVR for the Eclipse environment - but they are a bit flakey.
Logged
Webbot Home: http://webbot.org.uk/
WebbotLib online docs: http://webbot.org.uk/WebbotLibDocs
If your in the neighbourhood: http://www.hovinghamspa.co.uk

Offline jamort

  • Supreme Robot
  • *****
  • Posts: 375
  • Helpful? 2
Re: Help needed with C software
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2009, 11:52:03 PM »
naother thing is you may think your getting ahead not building the 50$ robot board and getting the robo but now you wont have any experience that much really with electronics like you would have if you would have built that board...
Logged
my english teacher once said, "dont talk about what you dont know in public...."

so I replied the truth, " Exactly why I dont ever talk about English."

Offline Equium DuoTopic starter

  • Beginner
  • *
  • Posts: 6
  • Helpful? 0
Re: Help needed with C software
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2009, 02:30:21 AM »
I did electronics for an A-Level(highschool 17/18 years old level) and made a reversing parking sensor that actually worked and i bolted to my car :P So I'm not totally inept at soldering circuits and stuff. I chose the roboduino for the expanded feature list over the $50 board.

I am very comfortable with the hardware/,mechanical side of things. It's just the C programming i have no exposure too. I have experience in PIC assembly language and tbh i found it a lot easier to understand from a structure point of view than the dumbed down 'BASIC' software i was supplied with for the PIC. So i hope i take to it well also.

The problem i have is that i write my 'Hello, World!' program and the damm thing flashes on the screen so fast, i can barely read it. And any of the other exercises i try are similar and flash on the screen as soon as i press enter after entering some data. Is there a way to avoid this? Anyone can give me a 'wait until i press return to end the program' snippet of code i can stick at the end so i can actually view these damm programs?

Also should i stick with my vista desktop or go for a XP based laptop?
Logged

Offline Webbot

  • Expert Roboticist
  • Supreme Robot
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,165
  • Helpful? 111
    • Webbot stuff
Re: Help needed with C software
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2009, 09:35:46 AM »
There have been some posts elluding to Vista problems. Windows XP SP2 seems fairly bug-free
Logged
Webbot Home: http://webbot.org.uk/
WebbotLib online docs: http://webbot.org.uk/WebbotLibDocs
If your in the neighbourhood: http://www.hovinghamspa.co.uk
 

data_list