Programming bugbears

The EV3 Programs provided by LEGO with the software are highly impressive, but are nearly impossible to understand. The LEGO tutorials do accomplish their goal of introducing the reader to the blocks and vernacular of EV3 programming. The provided models demonstrate the potential of the kit for the advanced hobbyist. This is a great marketing tool for LEGO when one watches videos of the extremely cool models that can be built with EV3. However, the programs are entirely lacking in any kind of documentation. One of the main reasons I wrote a book for the intermediate level user is this need for explanation of these great programs and to help bridge the gap between the rudimentary tutorials and the advanced models.

There are great advantages to visual programming languages such as LabVIEW, Scratch, and the EV3 LEGO MINDSTORMS software. They can be just as powerful as line code, but examining the main code for the Gyro Boy program in the following screenshot, we can see...