Page 20 - The Definitive Guide to Building Java Robots

Preston_5564C01.fm Page 1 Friday, September 16, 2005 6:36 AM

CHAPTER 1

■ ■ ■

A Primer

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

— Albert Einstein

1.0 Introduction

Before you begin programming your robot with Java, you should consider some things that will
make your Java robot experience much more enjoyable. They include the following:
• A configured personal computer and various software*

•A serial link
• A microcontroller

•A robot

■Note Be sure your PC has a fast Internet connection as I will often refer to links from the Internet for
download or reference.

To begin, I’ll walk you through a setup similar to mine. Forgive me non-Windows users, all
screen captures are from Windows XP. When the occasion arises, I’ll mention an alternative
way of achieving the same thing with a UNIX-based operating system.

Personal Computer Setup
To facilitate use of your personal computer for this book, you should do the following.
Download and install the Java Standard Edition 1.4.2 from:
• http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html
Download and install Eclipse 3.02 from:

• http://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/downloads/index.php

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