Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This book covers a lot of ground on NXT-G programming and is a must have resource for anyone serious about programming in NXT-G as the on line help included with the NXT set is not adequate.
As a professional programmer and a robotics hobbyist, I would recommend that anyone wanting to bring out the full potential of their NXT creations move to a text based language like Robot-C instead. While NXT-G is good for simple programs, it is just to difficult to create anything of any complexity as the graphical elements and all those connecting lines distract you from what you are trying to accomplish.
I am giving this book 5 stars because it does well at what it is, a reference / guide to the NXT-G programming language. It is NXT-G itself that I would only give 2 stars.

This book lacks depth and is, at best, a poor rewrite of the online help file. Anybody who spends a little bit of time with the NXT could have written this book. Be very aware of the author's own review! Amazon should not allow this kind of SELF-PROMOTION in which the author and his friends publish one-sided views out of self-interest. Just have a look at the author's other comments. This is not what this review or feedback system is intended for!

I was VERY disappointed in this book. I have three examples, all of which arise from questions from an FLL team. This book answers none of them:
1. What does the "control motor power" toggle do in the Motor block? -- You will never know, because inexplicably, this most basic block is never covered in this book.
2. What does the "calibrate" block actually do? -- You will never know, because the author clearly doesn't, either. There is a "whole" chapter dedicated to it, but there is no information as to why you might want to use one, when to use one, etc.
3. What does the little icon that looks like a balance do in the sensor blocks? -- It is never mentioned, covered or used.
Don't bother. Keep looking. This book won't help.

There's no other book out there that covers the NXT-G programming language. Jim Kelly covers the subject thoroughly, in a clear, friendly and encouraging style.

The book not only covers NXT-G, it's also a primer on what programming is and how it works. With this book, teachers, students and beginners will have everything they need to understand how NXT-G works and how to use it. Advanced users will learn a thing or two as well, particularly with respect to some of the lesser known blocks within the NXT-G program.

I was hoping to learn more about NXT-G. I didn't. There is nothing in this book that is not in the online help files that come with the software. There are a number of errors. The X/Y coordinate system on page 188 in wrong, half of the time in the discussion of the logic block he calls it the compare block. It expected much more from this book. In the discussion of the logic block he shows how to evaluate 2 things. That is very simple and covered in the on-line notes. He doesn't explain how to compare 3 things or 4 things. This is actually tricky to figure out. I did but an example in the book would have saved me a lot of time. As you know my now, telling the bot to turn 90 degrees will not turn the bot 90 degrees. He notes that--in the appendix--but doesn't tell you how to get accurate results. That would have been useful. It would have been useful if the author had shown how add to the number in a variable block. This is useful if you want your bot to keep a running tally of something, like keeping score. There are many more examples I could site but this will do. I did, however, discover some very useful tips in The Lego Mindsotrms NXT Idea Book. That book too has its flaws but is worth the money unlike this book.

This is the best source for NXT-G programming!

Many Mindstorms NXT books have information on NXT-G, but they either do not go into every detail, or they make it too complicated. In this book, James Kelly covers everything you need to know; he explains what robots and programming are using simple examples. He has a chapter for every single programming block and explains them in easy to understand terms. He shows how to create Myblocks (custom blocks using multiple basic blocks). He also teaches you how to use pseudo-code before going to a computer. One of the most helpful sections in the book (for me) is the "wired" chapter, where he explains how to use data wires using easy explanation. Do not get the impression that the book is simple and basic; it just explains things so well that anyone could understand.

Over all this is one of the first books you should buy if you want to know all about programming the NXT!

I bought this for my grandson to help him with the NXT 2.0. The book has helped him with programming terminology associated with the NXt. He is now posting new robots almost daily on Facebook. He absolutely loved the book.