Chapter 27: Ten Additional Programming Resources 385
programs in your favorite language, such as C, C++, or Pascal. After you master how to control a robot using C or Pascal, you can transfer your robot programming skills to real-life programs.
Most battling robot programs run only on MS-DOS. If that’s okay with you, download a free copy of a battling-robots game from one of the following Web sites:
The C++ Robots game is at www.gamerz.net/c++robots/.
The C-Robots and P-Robots game is at www.informatik. uni-frankfurt.de/~hbecker/pcroth.html.
Toying with Lego Mindstorms
Nearly every kid’s had the chance to play with Lego building blocks (and plenty of parents have had the chance to step on a Lego building block in their bare feet). Because so many kids love playing with computers, the fine people controlling the Lego empire decided to combine Legos with computers, and the result is something known as Lego Mindstorms (at http:// mindstorms.lego.com).
By using Lego Mindstorms, you can use Lego bricks to build a robot and then program it by using a simplified, graphically oriented programming language. Of course, if you find this simplified programming language too tame, the Lego Mindstorms Web site offers a free software developer’s toolkit that enables you to program a Lego robot by using Visual Basic. Programming a Lego robot involves pasting together blocks of instructions, similar to snapping together Lego building blocks.
For hardcore programmers who’d rather use a language tougher than Visual Basic, visit the legOS Web site (at www.noga.de/legOS) and download tools that enable you to control your Lego Mindstorms robots by using assembly language, C, C++, Pascal, or practically any programming language that you choose.
By using a copy of Lego Mindstorms and any of the free programming toolkits available, you can create your own robots out of Legos and program them to attack one another, chase your dog around the house, or run berserk and protect your house against prowlers. After you practice your programming skills with Lego Mindstorms, you can create almost anything that you want within the safe, friendly environment of Legos.
386 Part VII: The Part of Tens
Appendix
About the CD
Here’s just some of the stuff available on the Beginning Programming For Dummies, Third Edition, CD-ROM:
Liberty BASIC: a shareware program for writing Windows programs using BASIC
NS Basic: a trial program that allows you to write BASIC programs for either the PalmOS or the PocketPC handheld computer
REALbasic: a demo that allows you to create Macintosh and Windows programs by drawing your user interface and then writing BASIC code to make it work
Dev-C++: a freeware and open source C++ compiler that allows you to see how a compiler works and write C/C++ programs for Windows
Revolution: a cross-platform trial program that lets you write programs for Windows, the Macintosh, and Linux
pMARS: a freeware game program in which players write programs that stalk each other through the memory of an imaginary computer
System Requirements
Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements that I give in the following list. If your computer doesn’t match up to most of these requirements, you may experience problems in using the contents of the CD.
A PC with a Pentium (or similar processor such as a Duron, K6, Celeron, or Athlon) or faster processor or a Mac OS computer with a PowerPC processor.
Microsoft Windows 98 or later or Mac OS system software 8.6 or later.
390 Beginning Programming For Dummies, 3rd Edition
(This mounts the cdrom device to the mnt/cdrom directory. If your device has a different name, change cdrom to that device name — for example, cdrom1.)
b.Graphical: Right-click the CD-ROM icon on the desktop and choose Mount CD-ROM. This mounts your CD-ROM.
4.Browse the CD and follow the individual installation instructions for the products listed below.
5.To remove the CD from your CD-ROM drive, follow these steps:
a.Command line instructions:
At the command prompt type:
umount /mnt/cdrom
b.Graphical: Right-click the CD-ROM icon on the desktop and choose UMount CD-ROM. This un-mounts your CD-ROM.
When you have installed the programs that you want, you can eject the CD.
Carefully place it back in the plastic jacket of the book for safekeeping.
What You’ll Find
This CD is crammed with a variety of different programming languages so that you can experiment and explore different languages from the comfort and convenience of your own computer. Just as studying different foreign languages can give you a broader understanding of human communication, so can studying a range of computer programming languages give you a broader understanding of computer programming in general.
Software
Adobe Acrobat, from Adobe (www.adobe.com). Adobe Acrobat enables you to read Acrobat PDF files on a Windows or Macintosh computer.
BBedit, from Bare Bones Software (www.barebones.com), BBEdit is a text editor for the Macintosh, which lets you write any type of programs including HTML code to design your own web pages.
C++ Builder, from Borland International (www.borland.com). C++ Builder allows you to visually design your user interface and then use the C++ programming language to make it work. Borland plans to make C++ Builder into a cross-platform compiler so you can write programs for both Windows and Linux.
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C++ Robots, a game where you program a battling robot using the C++ programming language. Well-written programs survive awhile poorly written programs (those that don’t work right or run too slowly) get wiped out on the battlefield. (http://www.gamerz.net/rrognlie/projects.html)
C# Builder Personal, from Borland International (www.borland.com). C# Builder allows you to use Microsoft’s newest C# programming language to create Windows programs.
Delphi, from Borland International (www.borland.com). Delphi is a rapidapplication development tool based on the Pascal programming language. By copying source code between Linux and Delphi, you can create applications for both Windows and Linux.
Dev-C++, from Bloodshed Software (at www.bloodshed.net). Dev-C++ is a complete C/C++ programming environment for creating Windows programs.
Free Pascal, from Free Pascal.org (at www.freepascal.org). Free Pascal is a Pascal compiler that closely follows the syntax of Borland Pascal version 7.0 and Delphi.
Future BASIC3, from Staz Software (at www.stazsoftware.com). Future BASIC3 enables you to write applications for the Macintosh by using the BASIC programming language.
IBM® Robocode V1.0.6, battling robot game from IBM, which lets you program a robot in Java (http://robocode.alphaworks.ibm.com/home/ home.html). Poorly written programs get killed while well-written programs wipe out the competition and survive.
JBuilder, from Borland International (www.borland.com). JBuilder is a rapidapplication development tool for writing programs using the Java programming language. Because Java programs can run on different operating systems, JBuilder programs can as well, including Windows and Linux.
Kylix, from Borland International (www.borland.com). Kylix is the Linux version of Delphi, which allows you to use Pascal to write Linux applications. By copying source code between Linux and Delphi, you can create applications for both Windows and Linux.
Liberty BASIC, from ShopTalk Systems (at www.libertybasic.com). Liberty BASIC offers a BASIC compiler for Windows capable of creating complete Windows applications.
MacPerl, a Macintosh version of the popular Perl programming language, often used to program web sites but also capable of creating general purpose programs too (www.macperl.com).
Appendix: About the CD 393
Freeware programs are free, copyrighted games, applications, and utilities. You can copy them to as many PCs as you like — free — but they have no technical support.
GNU software is governed by its own license, which you find inside the folder of the GNU software. You face no restrictions on distribution of this software. See the GNU license for more details.
Trial, demo, or evaluation versions are usually limited either by time or functionality (such as an inability to save projects).
If You’ve Got Problems (Of the CD Kind)
I tried my best to compile programs that work on most computers with the minimum system requirements. Alas, your computer may differ, and some programs may not work correctly for some reason.
The two likeliest problems are that your machine doesn’t have enough memory (RAM) for the programs that you want to use or that you have other programs running that are affecting installation or running of a program. If you get error messages such as Not enough memory or Setup cannot continue, try one or more of the following methods and then try using the software again:
Turn off any antivirus software that’s on your computer. Installers sometimes mimic virus activity and may make your computer incorrectly believe that a virus is infecting it.
Close all running programs. The more programs that you’re running, the less memory is available to other programs. Installers also typically update files and programs; if you keep other programs running, installation may not work correctly.
In Windows, close the CD interface and run demos or installations directly from Windows Explorer. The interface itself can tie up system memory or even conflict with certain kinds of interactive demos. Use Windows Explorer to browse the files on the CD and launch installers or demos.
Have your local computer store add more RAM to your computer. This course is, admittedly, a drastic and somewhat expensive step. If you have a Windows 95 PC or a Mac OS computer with a PowerPC chip, however, adding more memory can really help the speed of your computer and enable more programs to run at the same time.
