Java Programming

FRC Java Programming Help

Our team has used java for our robot since 2010, when FIRST began to support it as an official language for its FRC competition, and many of the programmers use it for other programs as well.

Why use Java?

As stated above, it is officially supported by FIRST, meaning that there are libraries checked out by professionals from WPI, called WPILib. There are many advantages to using Java over the standard LabView, though. First, it is an actual typed language, not drag and drop, which is closer to what one would find in the real world. Also, there is little to no "low level" management in Java, which means that it will automatically take care of memory allocations, without you having to worry about it. Our team especially likes the organizational methods afforded by Java, as well as the fact that threads (to run multiple processes at once) are more easily implemented than in other languages.

Helpful Resources

Oracle-Learn how to program in Java
Chief Delphi's Java Forums

Installing Java for FRC

1. Get a JDK:

We recommend JDK 6, as we are not entirely sure how well JDK 7 works with FRC yet. It is available at Oracle. If you do not use Windows, OpenJDK 6 works fine for Linux users, and for Mac users, you may have to install it from the software update center. However, the FRC tools only work in Windows, although you can program, upload, and debug from any OS.

2. Install NetBeans:

Install version 7.0.1 or 7.1, available from NetBeans.org. Make sure to at least get the Java SE package; the others are not necessary unless you feel that you will be using them. You can also download the JDK with it, from Oracle. Then, follow the instructions to install.

3. Install FRC Plugins

In NetBeans, go to Tools>Plugins, and select "Settings" on the window that pops up. Select "Add", and name the provider "FRC Java". The URL for this year should be available from FIRST on the WPI FIRST Forge page (WPILib). Then, click on Ok and go to the "Available Plugins" tab. Sort by provider, then install all plugins which are provided by FRC Java.

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