NXC: C Language for Mindstorms NXT

It looks like a lot of work has been done in the last month toward building a C-like programming environment for the Mindstorms NXT brick. While ditching the graphical programming environment isn’t the best thing for everyone, if you’ve used NQC for the original Mindstorms, you know how many hacking opportunities it exposed, even with it using the same underlying firmware. And frankly, for a lot of us, C is just a more comfortable programming language.

Not eXactly C (NXC) is a high level language, similar to C, built on top of the NBC compiler. It can also be used to program the NXT brick. NXC is basically NQC for the NXT. If you are just getting started with programming, then graphical environments such as the Mindstorms NXT software or Robolab may be better choices for you. If, however, you’re a programmer and you prefer typing a few lines to drag and drop icon programming, then either NBC or NXC may be perfect for you.

There’s a math library available for download and it now supports multi-threaded apps. If you need to go lower-level, you can use the NBC assembly-like compiler that NXC is built on top of. It’ll even let you check the battery level in code, which is currently impossible with the LEGO software. Check it out and shoot us some NXT programming ideas in the comments!

• NXC: Not eXactly C – for Mindstorms NXT (as well as NBC)
• NQC: Not Quite C – for the original LEGO Mindstorms