An iconic language tool for the Lego MindStorms RCX, which generates NQC code. Support is included to facilitate integrating the NQC compilation and deployment processes. (This project was formerly known as fUNSoftWare.)
This has personally been one of the more intriguing software finds for the RCX.
On the original SourceForge project website http://funsoftware.sf.net/, only one release and one version of the source code were posted.
This software was originally created by students at the University of New South Wales School of Computer Science and Engineering.
- Initiated by Dr Eric Martin
- Developed by Thomas Legowo
- Graphic design by Geoffrey Roberts
Several updates were posted but never saw any action upstream.
Patches by Matthew Sheets include the following modifications in particular:
- Fixed bug preventing creation of arithmetic conditions (branch, loop) inside global event monitors
- Enabled use of non-USB IR towers by checking the RCXTTY environment variable before defaulting to USB
- Changed default file writes (e.g. config.txt, intermediate NQC code file) to occur under the user's directory to resolve permissions issues
- Updated check in Windows for whether to use command.com or cmd.exe
- Added a "Device" menu (for potential future enhancement; for now, is set to RCX2)
- Modularized some property values into an AppProperties class
- Changed window layout to increase the programming area; added UNSW CSE logo and URL to the about dialog
- Updated GUI to be able resize well to other screen sizes; removed the manual screen resizing code and reworked the code to use components with built-in resizing capabilities.
Development currently seems to work best with NetBeans IDE 8.2.
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----- fUNSoftWare ----- ----------------
Version: 1.0 Author: Thomas Legowo and Eric Martin Copyright of UNSW School of Computer Science and Engineering
1 Requirements 2 Introduction 3 Basic features 3.1 Icon types 3.2 Icon insertion 3.3 Icon deletion 3.4 Icon replacement 3.5 Icon relocation 3.6 Copying an icon 3.7 Editing icon attributes 3.8 Displaying icon properties and help 3.9 Undo/Redo 3.10 Execution to RCX 4 Advanced Features 4.1 Tasks 4.2 Functions 4.3 Events 4.4 Variables and arithmetic operations 4.5 NQC code 5 Acknowledgements
1 Requirements <<<<<
fUNSoftWare needs the following set-up:
- Java 1.5 or above. The latest Java environment can be downloaded from http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/download.jsp
- NQC 3.1 r4 or above The latest version of NQC can be downloaded from http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nqc/welcome.html
fUNSoftWare can be run on any Operating System, with Windows and MacOS as the recommended operating systems.
2 Introduction <<<<<
fUNSoftWare is an icon based software program used to program the LEGO Mindstorms robots. It is able to utilise the robots' motors, lamps, sensors (touch sensors, light sensors, rotational sensors, temperature sensors), timers, and speakers. Equipped with powerful features, fUNSoftWare also teaches the basics of programming concepts: functions, variables, branches, loops, and arithmetic operations. It even encourages modular programming.
In order to program a robot, you will have to do the following steps:
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Create a program that involves stringing together icons from left to right and editing them where appropriate. fUNSoftWare might generate some error messages throughout the process if you attempt to execute an illegal operation. One of the great features of fUNSoftWare is that all the wiring is done automatically. Whether you want to insert or delete icons, the necessary wires that link the icon you are working on with the surrounding icons will be created or deleted automatically.
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After you are satisfied with the program, you will need to compile it. The result of the compilation is an NQC (Not Quite C) text code that is guaranteed to run (though maybe not as you want it to run!) on the LEGO robot.
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The robot might not perform the task you wanted because you inserted icons that do not perform their intended operations. You will then need to edit the program and repeat processes 2 and 3 until everything works as you originally had in mind.
Now understanding the basics of creating a program in fUNSoftWare.
You will start off with a main graph consisting of two traffic light icons, the left one of being set to green and the right one to red. Any icon that you wish to use should be placed between the green and red traffic lights, and the program will read them sequentially from left to right. It is possible to create another graph with different sets of icons and a new set of traffic lights in one of three kinds of structures, called tasks, functions or events.
3 Basic features <<<<<
There are three types of icons:
- Singles An icon of this type accomplishes one single operation. Upon execution, this icon does not affect the rest of the program.
Following is a schematic representation of two "single" icons strung next to each other:
---- ----
| |------| |
---- ----
- Branches An icon of this type determines one out of two possible paths that the program takes based on a check on whether a specified condition (can be using sensor readings or an arithmetic expression) is met.
Following is a schematic representation of a "branch" icon:
|---
|
----|
| |
----|
|
|---
- Loops An icon of this type decides whether or not to repeat a designated sequence of icons based on a check on whether a specified condition (can be using sensor readings or an arithmetic expression) is met.
Following is a schematic representation of a "loop" icon:
| |
| ---- |
|-------| |-------|
----
To insert a "single" typed icon, simply click on the "single" icon that you want, then click once more on the programming palette to place it.
To insert a "branch" typed icon, simply click on the "branch" icon that you want, then click once more on the programming palette to place it.
To insert a "loop" typed icon, simply click on the "loop" icon that you want, then you will need to click twice on the programming palette to determine the beginning and the end of the loop, respectively.
The program will let you know if the icon insertion process was unsuccessful due to illegal steps taken by you.
If after you have selected an icon, you decide not to insert it, then simply select the "Cancel" button on the top right hand side of the window.
To delete a "single" typed icon, simply right click on the "single" icon that you want to delete, then select "Delete icon".
To delete a "branch" typed icon, simply right click on the "branch" icon that you want to delete, then select "Delete". You will then need to select whether to delete the branch with all of the icons inside both of its paths or just one of the paths (in which case you will have to indicate which path you want to delete and which one you want to keep).
To delete a "loop" typed icon, simply right click on the "loop" icon that you want to delete, then select "Delete". You will then need to indicate whether to delete the loop icon with all of the icons inside it or just the icon itself.
You can replace an icon by simply right clicking the icon, then select "Replace icon", then select the desired icon as the replacement.
For a "single" typed icon, simply right click on the icon, then select "Relocate icon". You will then need to click on the programming palette to determine the new position of the icon.
For a "branch" typed icon, simply right click on the icon then select "Relocate icon". You will then need to click on the programming palette to determine the new position of the icon. All icons in its paths will also be relocated to positions relative to the branch icon.
For a "loop" typed icon, simply right click on the icon then select "Relocate icon". You will then need to click on the programming palette to determine the new position of the icon. All icons enclosed will also be relocated to positions relative to the loop icon.
Simply right click on the desired icon, then left click on the programming palette to place the copied icon. The copied icon will have the same attribute values as the original icon.
For a "loop" icon, after "Copy icon" is selected, you will need to click twice on the programming palette just as if you were inserting a new "loop" icon.
All kinds of icons in fUNSoftWare have their attributes ready to be edited without the need to add more icons. Some attributes are displayed and can be edited by clicking on them. Other attributes can be edited through a small pop up window.
For certain attributes, you will need to have the following information before continuing:
- Light sensor value: ranges between 0 (bright) to 100 (dark)
- Temperature sensor value: 1 = 1/10 Celcius
- Rotational sensor value: 1 = 1/16 of one motor rotation
- Timer value: 1 = 1/10 seconds
- Note duration: 1 = 1/100 seconds
By right clicking on any icon and selecting "Properties", the corresponding icon's attributes and their respective values will be displayed.
By right clicking on any icon and selecting "Help", the corresponding icon's context help will be displayed. This will explain each of the icon's attributes.
On the top right corner of the program's window, there are two buttons for undo and redo. "Undo" is used to restore the previous state of the program and "Redo" is used to restore the state of the program before an undo operation was carried out.
If you select "Compile and Download" or "Compile and Run" in the menu, an NQC code will be generated and executed on the robot. "Compile and Download" will download your program into the LEGO robot and then you will need to press the green button "run" on the robot to get it to start on running your program. "Compile and Run" will download and automatically run your program on the LEGO robot.
You should make sure that the robot is within the infrared tower's range, and is properly equipped to accomplish your task.
4 Advanced features <<<<<
A task can be executed in parallel to other tasks and can be started or stopped anytime. A task called "main" is set by default and cannot be renamed nor deleted. It is the starting point whenever a program of your creation is to be executed.
A function is different to a task. It can be re-used anywhere. It is used to make programs more modular and readable.
A "level" attribute for function is used to determine "who calls whom". A function can only call another function if and only if its level is higher than the level of the called functions.
A function can have arguments. Arguments are local variables that are passed onto the function to be used within the function only.
There are two elements for this feature:
- Event Definition
An event is a process where the LEGO robot checks a selected sensor or timer. It consists of:
- Type of sensor or timer
- Input port of the sensor or the timer number
- Comparator. (E.g. for a touch sensor, detect whether the sensor is being touched or released whereas for a light sensor, detect whether its reading is greater than or less than a specified value).
A maximum of 16 different events can be defined in a program.
- Event Monitor
An event monitor is a process where the LEGO robot executes a set of icons while waiting for one or more events to be satisfied.
An event monitor consists of:
- Type (Local or Global)
- Events to be monitored.
- Associated code to be executed as long as no event has detected the associated reading. If and when an event that is being monitored "happens", then execution of the code associated with the event monitor stops and execution of the program jumps to right after the icon that has started monitoring the event.
A "Local" event monitor implies that it can only be started from a specified task or function that has a higher level than the event monitor. An arithmetic operation in such event monitor can use the specified task or function's local variables.
A "Global" event monitor implies that it can be started from any task or function, but then cannot use any of the local variables of the task or function.
No event monitor can start another event monitor.
A "level" attribute for event monitor is used to determine "which function call it". A function can only call an event monitor if and only if its level is higher than the level of the called event monitor.
Variable take integer values. These values change according to arithmetic operations applied to the variable.
An arithmetic operation is of the form
Variable = Operand
where "Operand" is one of
- Constant
- Variable
- Operand Operator Operand
and "Operator" is one of
-
-
-
- /
The variables SENSOR_1, SENSOR_2 and SENSOR_3 are special: they hold the values of the sensors connected to ports 1, 2 and 3, respectively, if any. So their values will change over time, and as such they are variables. But contrary to other kinds of (global or local) variables, their values cannot be set or changed by the user.
A variable that you have defined can be used in some icon attributes. You need to click on the desired attribute in the usual way, then you will need to type in "v". A small pop up window will appear and ask you to select which variable should be associated with the attribute.
Icons that allow the use of variable together with the attribute:
- Motor Icon for its power level
- Lamp Icon for its power level
- Play Any Note Icon for its frequency
- Wait Icon for the amount of time to wait
- Wait Light Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Wait Temperature Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Wait Rotational Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Wait Timer Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Branch Light Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Branch Temperature Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Branch Rotational Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Branch Timer Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Loop Light Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Loop Temperature Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Loop Rotational Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Loop Timer Sensor Icon for the value threshold
- Repeat Icon for the number of repeat
NQC is Not Quite C and it is a text based program used to program the LEGO robot. Unlike fUNSoftWare, you will need to input purely text without the use of any icons. To create a corresponding NQC code from your current program, you will need to save your program, then select the menu "Build", then "Create NQC Code". Alternatively, you can just press "F-5". An NQC file will be created afterwards and that file will use the same name as your save file but with "nqc" as the extension of the file. The location of the NQC file will also be in the same directory as your save file.
Example: If you saved your program with under a name "runfast", then the NQC file generated will be named "runfast.nqc".
5 Acknowledgements <<<<<
Mindstorms and LEGO are trademarks of the LEGO Group NQC is a free software released under the Mozilla Public License (MPL).
fUNSoftWare development team:
- Eric Martin --> Supervisor
- Thomas Legowo --> Programmer
- Geoffrey Roberts --> Graphic Designer
fUNSoftWare is released under the University of New South Wales School of Computer Science and Engineering.