LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming Guide (Technology in Action) [Paperback]

Floyd James Kelly (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1590598717 | ISBN-13: 978-1590598719 | Publication Date: July 18, 2007 | Edition: 1st. 2007. Corr. printing

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

"An introduction to programming Mindstorms NXT robots using the NXT-G programming toolkit by Lego is provided in this book. … The book covers every step needed to write programs, starting from no knowledge of programming and slowly bringing in additional programming constructs. … Overall, the book is clear and well written, intended for an audience with no programming skills who need step-by-step instructions … ." (M. Gini, ACM Computing Reviews, Vol. 49 (12), December, 2008)

About the Author

James Kelly is the author of LEGO Mindstorms NXT: The Mayan Adventure (Apress, December 2006).

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 the NXT. Readers and fans of NXT know his name and that he is actively involved in promoting the NXT as well as teaching kids and adults how to design, build, and program robots using the new kit.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1st. 2007. Corr. printing edition (July 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590598717
• ISBN-13: 978-1590598719
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #654,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Details about the book, July 13, 2007

By 

J. Kelly "GA Book Fan" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming Guide (Technology in Action) (Paperback)

DISCLAIMER: I am the author of this book - buyer beware :)

The book consists of 26 chapters plus 1 appendix.

The first 2 chapters cover the questions of "What is a robot" and "What is a program" and introduce the topic of pseudo code. There are many different methods when it comes to pseudo code, but this method will hopefully help teachers, parents, and students to understand how to take an idea for a program and turn it into actual NXT-G block code.

All 36 blocks are covered (the book is useful for both the retail version software and the educational version), and each block has its own chapter with the exception of a couple of blocks that share a chapter (such as the Random block and Number-To-Text block that share chapter 14).

There is a chapter dedicated to the concept of data plugs and wires (Chapter 7). This can be one of the more confusing elements of NXT-G, so this chapter uses a simplified method of showing how data types (number, text, logic) are passed between blocks.

Another chapter provides a walkthrough on creating a My Block. My Blocks are powerful methods for simplifying NXT-G programs, and this chapter shows how the ability to re-use My Blocks can be helpful.

Finally, the appendix covers some basic math such as converting back and forth between degrees and rotations. It also explains the LCD screen's resolution and how the X/Y coordinates work.

Teachers, parents, coaches, and kids should find this book useful. It's written in a very friendly and easy-to-read style and provides plenty of sample programs in each chapter to demonstrate how to use the blocks. Also, coverage of each block's configuration panel is also provided. Overall, the book can be used as an additional source of information on the NXT-G programming language to supplement the Help files included with the software.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lego Mindstorms NXT_G Programming Guide, August 9, 2007

By 

Mike Lawson "MLComputer" (Zanesville, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming Guide (Technology in Action) (Paperback)

When it comes to wanting to do Lego Mindstorm NXT-G, this is the first book you should get. The book shows the reader what different blocks are and how they work. The book also reads in terms that middle school students can understand and follow. Programming is the most difficult item that you have to do with a roboit. This book shows is a great resource for people that are in to lego roboits.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, February 17, 2008

By 

T. Bailey "T. Bailey" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming Guide (Technology in Action) (Paperback)

We bought this book for our nine year old son who had recently received the Mindstorms NXT for Christmas. He could not put the book down - read it from cover to cover and thinks it is a great book. Highly recommend.