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Java

Java is not Javascript

The names are similar, but Java is not the same thing as Javascript. Javascript (JS) is the programming language used in websites to provide dynamic logic, while Java is used for our robot code.

What is Java?

Java is a general-purpose, Object Oriented, bytecode-based programming language.

We use Java to develop all of our robot code.

Java code requires something called a JVM to run. JVM stands for Java Virtual Machine, and it acts as a machine that understands Java Bytecode (stored in .class files) and does nothing but run that bytecode. To create that bytecode, you need a Java compiler (called javac) that translates the human-readable Java source files (.java files) into Java bytecode files (.class files).

How can I learn Java?

Here are some links to tutorials on basic Java:

Tutorial Description
W3Schools W3Schools teaches the basics of Java Syntax
FRCDocs: Getting Started Explains the basics of programming robots.
Team 3255 "Create a basic driving robot" Another team wrote this article about how to program a basic robot that drives. This will be hard to follow along with since you don't have any of the hardware, but can still be valuable to read.

The following pages link to this page: