LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming Guide

LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming Guide is suitable for young programmers, age 10 and up, as well as parents and teachers who want to learn the new language for themselves or be able to assist students/children with learning to properly program their robots.

• Includes easy-to-follow examples for each and every programming block
• Provides programming techniques simple enough to be understood by young programmers, ages 10 and up
• Provides a test robot (with instructions) in the appendix for running the programs

• Understand the basics of computer programming
• Easily program your robot with the NXT-G visual programming language
• See how to implement basic, intermediate, and advanced programs
• Learn how to program for
  • Moving
  • Waiting
  • Recording
  • Stopping
  • Displaying messages
  • Sending messages
  • Defining the duration of an activity
  • Creating random behavior
• Practice with a free sample program

This book is for people new to programming (10 years old and up) or for experienced programmers new to the NXT-G programming language.

LEGO Mindstorms NXT is the most popular robot on the market. James Kelly is the author of the most popular blog on NXT (http://thenxtstep.blogspot.com/) with over 30,000 hits a month.

The NXT-G visual programming language for the NXT robot is completely new and there are currently no books available on the subject. There is an extremely limited amount of information in the HTML help files included with the software. This book covers all of the basic, intermediate, and advanced programming blocks that are standard with the NXT-G language suite. The book uses simple, non-technical terminology with plenty of screenshots and line drawings to demonstrate proper use of all the blocks as well as basic programming techniques such as loops, If-Then statements, case statements, and use of variables.

James Floyd Kelly is a freelance writer living in Atlanta, Georgia, with degrees in English and Industrial Engineering. A long-time Lego Mindstorms developer, he is editor-in-chief of the world's most popular Lego blog, thenxtstep.com, which continues to draw an estimated 30,000+ readers monthly, and is a regular contributor to the Lego Mindstorm development team. James Kelly has written on topics including robotics, building custom computers and free software. His most recent book, Don't Spend a Dime: The Path to Low-Cost Computing, is the first book on free software to be published in four years. When not writing, he and his wife enjoy watching their little boy discover all kinds of new and exciting things about the world.

James Floyd Kelly is a member of the Mindstorms Developers Program and has access to the beta software and hardware. He maintains a blog dedicated to NXT.

He was accepted as a member of the beta team for testing of the new Mindstorms NXT. He created the #1 Mindstorms NXT blog in January 2006, and it continues to draw an estimated 30,000+ readers monthly for news, updates, and information on NXT. Readers and fans of NXT know his name and that he is actively involved in promoting NXT as well as teaching kids and adults how to design, build, and program robots using the new kit.