Roboticists often sit to Scratch their heads about the programming language they can use for programming robots. It’s a very obvious question. What is the point of putting so much effort into learning programming languages that can’t be used?.
If you are into technology and robotics, then it’s important to learn programming languages that you will use in the future. No one can answer the question ‘what is the best programming language for robotics?’.
Even if you are in a room full of professionals, such as Reddit, Quora, ResearchGate, and so on, you will get various answers from industrial robotics technicians or computer vision programmers. They all say the same thing ‘it depends!’
You have probably landed on this page because you have no idea what programming languages can be used for programming robots.
There are more than 1500 programming languages that roboticists use for programming robots. But it is not possible to learn them all. In this post, we list seven popular programming languages to help you out.
1. C/C++
Programmers and roboticists agree that C and C++ are important for programming robots because the hardware libraries used in robotics use these languages. The libraries allow interaction with the low-level hardware and real-time performance, and the libraries are considered very mature languages. Nowadays, C++ is used more than C, but never forget that C will always remain the most well-organized programming language available.
2. Python
Python has climbed its way up rapidly. According to statistics, Python is one of the top-rated languages. The other reason for Python being popular in robotics is because it shares the stage with C++ who is as important as Python. Python takes time in programming as it distributes many regular things like defining and casting irregularities, such as Java, a language of interpretation. In the coming days, we will see a lot more Python in robotics as it is robotics-friendly.
3. Java
People with a computer science background coming to explore robotics already know about Java. Java is known to be an interpretive language, which means that it is not assembled with machine code. Rather it interprets during the runtime by letting you see similar code on different machines. Java is the core language of many modernized AIs. Artificial intelligence has now adapted to our lifestyle.
4. C#/.NET
C# is an exclusive programming language that has been introduced to us by Microsoft itself. C# is not an easy programming language to learn at the beginning of your study, as it is a difficult language. Microsoft Robotic Studio considers C# as a primary language. If you are into this system, you have to learn how to use C#. It is also used as the basis for few Virtual Reality Engines, such as Unity, which is trending.
5. MATLAB
Matlab is very famous and cooperative with few robotic engineers because they analyze data and control the systems. This programming language is used in research and data processing. It is also used seriously in many courses of universities. In robotics, you will find a popular robotics toolbox for MATLAB. If you are interested in producing graphics that are advanced in nature or implement control systems, then you should use MATLAB.
6. Scratch
This one is not that old and has been introduced recently. Roboticists use Scratch around the world per year. It is a visual programming language built for new programmers between the ages of 8 to 16. This programming language is mostly used in school technology classes as well as robotic clubs. Scratch is popular for beginners, and it is leading the way for future robotics engineers. We can already see the future by watching the humanoid robots behaving as robot influencers on social media.
7. Pascal
Pascal was built to encourage productive programming practices. It is based on the language BASIC. Pascal nowadays is not used, because it is too good for regular use. It will help you if you are interested in becoming intrusive with other robotic languages, and it keeps its distance from particular robot brands.
Conclusion
Someone needs to build a mindset before developing a program. Learning is never a waste of time, therefore get to know programming languages as much as you can. You don’t have to learn all the programming languages that are mentioned above altogether. Take time, choose the one that is compatible with your robotic hardware. Just a piece of information, if you want to develop a health application for healthcare, you can use Python. Leave a comment below in the comment section, mention your issues if you have any, or tell us how much help this article was to you?
About the author:
Alisha Jones is an online entrepreneur by profession and a passionate blogger by heart. She is on a mission to help digital businesses grow online. She shares her journey, insights, and experiences at Online Health Media & Content Rally & Social Media Magazine & Search Engine Magazine.