Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
BlocklyProp discussions post to which category? — Parallax Forums

BlocklyProp discussions post to which category?

John KauffmanJohn Kauffman Posts: 653
in Robotics
Which category is best for posting new BlocklyProp discussions? Given that it is new and exciting, I would expect lots of posts and searches, so it would be good to get the discussions in one place. I'm expecting my students (and I) to be asking plenty of questions and making observations during the rest of AY 16/17.

BlocklyProp questions don't really fit Robotics because BlocklyProp also supports the Activity Board. And they don't seem to fit in Propeller 1. Learn might work.

Since we have a category for Propeller C - EDU Development, might we make a category named BlocklyProp?

Thanks, John

Comments

  • John KauffmanJohn Kauffman Posts: 653
    And in the meantime....
    Re strings for Comm/Terminal/Print block:
    Is there a way to concatenate strings?
    Is there a way to add escape characters like \t ( terminal \n is already available)
    Possible to display variables in the middle of a string (like %d)? (or just use multiple print blocks w/ no line return?

    Thanks, John
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    My feeling is S3 stuff here and other BlocklyProp questions in the Propeller category.

    All should list BlocklyProp in the title...Maybe Ken or the Parallax team could weigh in.
  • Courtney JacobsCourtney Jacobs Posts: 903
    If your posts are related to material from the Learn website, or related to education with the S3/ABWX and BlocklyProp, then they should be in Learn.

    Anything posted outside of Learn is unlikely to be addressed or seen by the Parallax EDU team. I'll send a request to the S3/ABWX block-makers to look into your questions here. Perhaps they can offer more in-depth answers.
    • The S3 blocks are based in Spin, not C, and not every command will be available. For advanced programming of the S3, please use Spin language and the Propeller Tool/PropellerIDE.
    • The Propeller Activity Board WX blocks are C-language, and a bit less restricted than the S3 blocks, but again not every command will be available. For advanced programming of the Activity Board WX please use SimpleIDE.
  • John KauffmanJohn Kauffman Posts: 653
    Thoughts:

    I see Whit's point that some BlocklyPrp questions go in Robots for S3 and others in Learn and some in Prop1.

    But many general questions on BlocklyProp techniques will apply to S3, ActivtyBoard, ActivityBot and probably others. So questions will probably be universal to multiple platforms. It would be convenient to have all these in one place. For example, an I2C example: S3 or ActivityBoad?

    My understanding is that Blockly Prop will be an important part of Parallax's strategy to attract users to the Parallax platforms & hardware. So BlocklyProp is likely to expand to other platforms and further dilute discussions among various categories.

    It would not be a problem if the search engine for Forums were four aces, but I have found it, at times, not accurate.

    My vote is to make a BlocklyProp category so it is shown to public as same importance as PropC. And so new users can be pointed with a single URL to all things BlocklyProp.

    But wherever these discussions will be located, we can soon expect a lot of them re S3, ActivityBoard, ActBot, Learn and others, so probably worth getting this decision done now.

    - John
  • John KauffmanJohn Kauffman Posts: 653
    Courtney:

    I agree advanced question re C and SPIN go elsewhere. But I expect lots of questions on BlocklyProp at its visual level without any reference to the underlying languages.

    I could see BlocklyProp being within Learn. Can there be a sub-category? I think it would be great to have one URL to give educators a pointer to "all things BlocklyProp."

    Thanks for your help to get a uniform policy done now before the increasing number of questions are scattered throughout the fora without a rational.

    - John
  • Courtney JacobsCourtney Jacobs Posts: 903
    edited 2016-10-10 19:00
    We try to avoid subcategories unless it is proven that there is sufficient and sustained demand. If we observe frequent posts from multiple users regarding BlocklyProp, we can re-evaluate our categorization.

    For now, I suggest posting under Learn and making the title clear that the thread is in regards to BlocklyProp S3 or ABWX.

    If your question is time-sensitive, please send it directly to education@parallax.com.
  • John KauffmanJohn Kauffman Posts: 653
    Sounds good, will do.
  • MattMatzMattMatz Posts: 87
    Good evening,

    Sorry I didn't get to this sooner - I'll answer here.

    Is there a way to concatenate strings? - There will be. There is a block for this on our testing server and once we get some bugs out, it will make it's way to the live system.
    Is there a way to add escape characters like \t ( terminal \n is already available) - I think you can just type them into the print string blocks, but you'll have to try and let me know if it doesn't work. I don't know how the terminal responds to /t specifically - it's a different terminal engine/codebase than SimpleIDE, so we are still discovering what works and what doesn't.
    Possible to display variables in the middle of a string (like %d)? (or just use multiple print blocks w/ no line return?) - You'll have to use multiple blocks - formatted strings (or equivalent) would be a challenge to implement.

    One more thing you didn't ask but you may run into - there are not currently a blocks that do string to int or int to string. I'm debating that addition, but it's not there yet...if you run into that need, let me know what you're trying to do with it, so I can see where it falls on the priority list.

    Keep the questions coming, it helps us work out priorities and documentation!
    Thanks,
    Matt
  • MattMatzMattMatz Posts: 87
    Update: you can type \t into the string text block and send a tab character to the terminal. It appears to behave appropriately.
  • John KauffmanJohn Kauffman Posts: 653
    Keep the questions coming, it helps us work out priorities and documentation!

    Don't worry... now that the students are on it, there will be no end. They do have a way of making every possible mistake (good) and thinking of concepts in every possible way (also good). They understand to report to me any anomalies at all.

    Would it be useful to transfer following two threads to LEARN category? Makes sense for Courtney's plan for organization.

    http://forums.parallax.com/discussion/165100/blocklyprop-s3-windows-7-32bit-32-bit#latest
    this thread
  • twm47099twm47099 Posts: 867
    Regarding integer to string (and string to int), I use int to string when saving data to an SD card, for communicating wirelessly between a prop and a tablet, and I have used it in the past for displaying data on lcds and the 17 segment display on the PPDB. I use string to int when receiving wireless data (e.g. joystick commands via bluetooth) that I need to use in arithmetical operations.

    Tom


  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    John Kauffman wrote: »
    Keep the questions coming, it helps us work out priorities and documentation!

    Don't worry... now that the students are on it, there will be no end. They do have a way of making every possible mistake (good) and thinking of concepts in every possible way (also good). They understand to report to me any anomalies at all.

    John - I'll see you and your crew in the Learn category. Thanks for the input Parallax folks. The fun continues.
Sign In or Register to comment.