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August 15–21, 1999
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NQC (Not Quite C) — Dave Baum
NQC (which stands for “Not Quite C”) is a highly popular third-party tool
for programming the LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ Robotics Invention System. NQC is
actually an ASCII-based programming language with multitasking and variables,
which means that it’s much more expressive than the graphical oriented
software which ships with the RCX. (Children, however, may still find the
LEGO software easier to use.)
NQC is the brainchild of Dave Baum, who designed the language after the
popular systems programming langauage C, and adapted it for embedded systems
programming in the RCX. One beauty of NQC is that it produces programs
which run right on top of the default RCX firmware, which means getting
started with NQC is straightforward. Another beauty of NQC is that it
adds variables, macros, and inline subroutines to the list of ways you can
express yourself. And of course, since it’s modeled after C, it’s pretty
easy to learn if you’re already familiar with procedural programming
languages.
Since NQC is open-source software, it has been ported to multiple OS
platforms. In other words, you’re not limited to Windows; you can use
NQC with Linux, MacOS, OS/2, and so forth. NQC also has an active
community of users and developers working together to provide enhancements,
informal technical support, and additional related tools. Dave maintains a
helpful list of related items in the Other Pages section of his NQC
website.
Note: NQC is an independent, third-party project which is not sponsored,
authorized, or endorsed by the LEGO Group of companies.
More about NQC...
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