Before the control kit and the robot kit arrive you can start learning about C++, the Eclipse-based development environment, and all about the control system.

C++ is a difficult and error-prone programing language. It's good to first learn about programming using a more modern and higher level language like Java, Python, or Ruby. But eventually you'll need to know C++ to program the FRC robot on Team 971. (Some other teams use Java or LabView.)

Before programming large, safety-critical robots, spend time learning C++ programming on a laptop where you can try things quickly and make full use of a screen and keyboard and debugger.

Here's one way to set up tools for C++ development.

• Install Eclipse with the CDT (C Development Toolkit).
• For cRIO programming, after you've learned C++, install the full Wind River Workbench from the installer DVDs.
  • Here's the FIRST page about the 2009 FRC Control System and the WPI info and software updates.
  • Also get the software updates.
• If you're running on Windows, install Cygwin or MinGW/MSYS and its gcc, make, and gdb packages. (Linux generally comes with C++ compilers, so you get to skip these steps. On Macintosh, install Xcode to get a C++ compiler.)
  
  • Download Cygwin setup.exe (click the "Install or update now!" link on that page).
  • Run the installer program, "setup.exe", and go through the installation wizard: Pick a mirror site. Expand the "devel" section and pick "gcc", "gdb", and "make". Then start the download.
  • To enable the Wind River Workbench to find this compiler, you'll need to add this directory to the search 'Path' for executable programs. To do that, add the text
    
    • ;C:/cygwin/bin
  • to the end of your Path variable. The steps are:
    1. Go to Windows System Properties control panel > Advanced > Environment Variables > System Variables > "Path".
    2. Double-click on the Path variable to edit it.
    3. Append  ;C:/cygwin/bin   to the end of the Path value.
    4. "OK" all the way out of the control panel.
  • Restart Eclipse.
• Find a book or an online tutorial on C++. Here are some examples that sound like a good fit. I have not read them so I can't review them.
  
  • C++ How to Program by Harvey M. Deitel and Paul J. Deitel
    
  • The C++ Primer: A Gentle Introduction to C++, by M. T. Skinner
  • An online C++ Language Tutorial
  • Or search the web for C tutorials tutorials and C++ tutorials for more online tutorials and books.
• Start working through your tutorial. Write some programs using the Eclipse editor and debugger.

Try creating a sample C++ project within Eclipse:

1. File > New > Example... > Native Sample Project > The Complex Demonstration Program > Finish.
2. Project > Build All.
3. Look in the Build Console for build output. There should be no red build errors. Later when you start modifying the program, goofs will cause build errors to show up here.
4. Double-click on main.cpp in the Project view to open the source code in an editor view. Read this source file to get an idea what this program does.
5. The project also has files Complex.h and Complex.cpp in the "complexlib" folder, and iolib.h and iolib.cpp in the "iolib" folder. You can expand these folders and open these source files.
6. Run the program using the Run icon in the toolbar. The program prints and reads text in the Console view, so look there. Exit the program.
7. Run the program again using the Debug icon on the toolbar. You'll have to configure it the first time. In the Debug "Create, manage, and run configurations" dialog, pick C/C++ Local Application, click the "+ new launch configuration" button, configure the project name if needed, then click Debug. Eclipse will switch to the "Debug perspective", which is a different arrangement of views, suited to the job of debugging. This time the programs text input and output will go to a separate Console window.
8. Tinker with the debugger. You can set breakpoints, step through the program, and examine & change variable values.
   • E.g. set a breakpoint on the line "char do_quit='n';" in main.cpp. Resume program execution until it gets to that step. (If it has trouble finding the source code for main.cpp, use the file dialog to show it where the file is, inside WindRiver/workspace/complex_Native.
   • In the Variables view, expand the info about variables a and b to see their member variables. Notice that these member variables contain garbage values. They have not been initialized. That's because the class Complex doesn't have any constructor code to initialize its member variables. In a minute we'll fix that.
9. Let the program run to completion, or terminate it early using the red block icon on the toolbar.
10. Try modifying the program.
11. Switch back to the Application Development perspective.
12. Add a constructor in Complex.h and Complex.cpp that initializes its re and im fields to 0.0.
13. Debug the program again, and notice the properly initialized values a.re, a.im, b.re, and b.im. (If the debugger pauses at the beginning of main(), these values will not yet be initialized. Once it pauses at the breakpoint, they should be properly initialized.)

Focus on basic control structures, functions, classes, arrays, and pointers, also the built-in integer, float, and character data types.

C++ is loaded down with complicated features that you won't need. Try to avoid macros ('#DEFINE'), exceptions ('try' and 'throw'), operator overloading, templates, I/O streams, 'friend', name spaces, the 5 kinds of "cast", exceptions, and "placement new". Use 'new' instead of the old style 'malloc'. Use 'const' or 'enum' instead of the creaky old '#DEFINE' constants. Defer learning about namespaces and references.

In addition to all the tutorial books there are many "traps and pitfalls" books on C++. (My favorite title is Enough Rope to Shoot Yourself in the Foot: Rules for C and C++ Programming.) You'll want to know some of these tips.

A source code version control system enables coordination between multiple people working on a program or on the CAD drawings.

You can access Subversion using all of these tools:

• The Tortoise SVN extension for Windows Explorer. See the Tortoise SVN download page.
• The svn command line tool. Get SlikSVN from the main Subversion site.
• The Subclipse plug-in for Eclipse. See the Subclipse download instructions.

Learning Subversion:

• After you install Subclipse, its documentation will be in the Eclipse help system. You can also read it online.
• Or read chapters 1 & 2 of the Version Control with Subversion online reference book.

• Pick the Perspective "Subversion Repository Exploring"
• Right-click in the "SVN Repositories" View
• Add this repository.

 

FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC), Forums, and email broadcasts
FRC 2009 Control System documents (including the Control System Manual and links for software updates) and technical specs
FRC 2009 Competition Manuals and Team Updates
FRC Software Updates, with links to the WPILib C++ docs
WPI's FIRST Robotics Resoure Center (note: the programming section applies to the older 2008 controller)
WPI's Think Tank portal
Team 1114 docs, also see their "Simbot Prime, C++ beta test code" link to download their sample program in a .zip archive
National Instruments NI cRIO-9074 real-time controller
National Instruments tutorials on machine vision
FIRST Robotics Challenge webcasts