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Monday, September 13, 2010

Book Review - The Art of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming

About the Book
The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® software and its NXT-G programming language are powerful tools that make it easy to write custom programs for your robots. NXT-G is a great first programming language, but that doesn't mean it's easy to understand—at least not right away.

In The Art of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming, author and experienced software engineer Terry Griffin explains how to program MINDSTORMS robots with NXT-G. You'll learn how to work with the core parts of the NXT-G language, such as blocks, data wires, files, and variables, and see how these pieces can work together. You'll also learn good programming practices, bad habits to avoid, and useful debugging strategies.

As you follow along with the book's extensive instructions and explanations, you'll learn exactly how NXT-G works and how to:
  • Write custom programs that make your robots appear to think and respond to your commands
  • Design, create, and debug large programs
  • Write programs that use data wires and the NXT buttons to turn a robot into a contraption, like a sound generator or a sketch pad
  • Use My Blocks in your programs, and share them with others
  • Store data on the NXT, manage its memory, and transfer files between the NXT and your computer
The book's programs work with one general-purpose test robot that you'll build in Chapter 3.
Whether you're a young robotics enthusiast, an adult working with children to learn robotics, a parent, a FIRST LEGO League coach, or a teacher using NXT in the classroom, this is the complete guide to NXT-G that you've been looking for.


My Take on the Book
This book is a must have for the Lego Mindstorm owner. It is written in such a way that it provides you with down and dirty information about how to program your robot. The book is so complete and walks the beginner to expert through each and every step, leaving little for chance or question. As a newbie to lego mindstorm kits, I found this book to be very useful, but could also see this guide being a great reference for the long time user as well.

I give this book two thumbs up and think you will find it to be a great addition to your own library as well. If you still need to get a copy for yourself, you can find it on Amazon!
 

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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