Interactive C

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Interactive C
The Interactive C Logo
Interactive C v3.2
Interactive C v3.2
Developed by KISS Institute for Practical Robotics
Initial release 1997, 10–11 years ago
Stable release 8.0.1  (January, 2008) [+/−]
Preview release 7.0.6  (January 4, 2007) [+/−]
OS Windows, Mac, Linux, SGI UNIX, Solaris, SunOS
Available in English
License Distributed without charge by KISS Institute for Practical Robotics, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization
Website http://www.botball.org/ic http://www.newtonlabs.com/ic/
Interactive C
Influenced by C Programming Language

Interactive C is a program which uses a modified version of ANSI C with several libraries and features that allow hobbyists to program small robotics platforms.

[edit] Interactive C by Newton Research Labs

Newton Research Labs developed Interactive C as a compilation environment for robots using the Motorola 6811 processor. The MIT LEGO Robot Design Contest (6.270) was the original purpose for the software [1]. It became popular, however, due to its ability to compile on the fly rather than taking time to compile beforehand as other languages had done. The programming environment's newest version is IC Version 3.2 which supports the following operating systems:

The screenshot to the left shows Interactive C running on a Windows computer. The program features an Interaction Window where one-line C commands can be sent to the connected controller as well as an editing window, here titled main.c, where a program file is being edited and can be sent to the attached controller.


Here is the basic "Hello World" example for IC programming:

void main()
 {
      printf("Hello World");
 }

Here is another example using motor ports 1 and 3:

void main()
 {
      motor(1,100);
      motor(3,100);
      sleep(2.0);
      ao();
 }

Interactive C v3.2 is still used by The Ohio State University to program MIT Handy Boards in its Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Program. [2]

[edit] Interactive C by KISS Institute for Practical Robotics

KISS Institute for Practical Robotics developed a third-party alternative to the Newton Labs version of Interactive C for their Botball Educational Robotics Program.

The latest version of Interactive C by KISS Institute for Practical Robotics is IC 8.0.2, which supports the following operating systems:

  • Windows 2000, XP, and Vista
  • Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4, and 10.5
  • Linux (with gcc 3.3)

IC8 supports the following robotics controllers:

  • Xport Botball Controller (XBC) versions 1, 2, and 3
  • Xport Botball Controller (XBC) with iRobot Create
  • MIT Handy Board with Expansion Board
  • Lego RCX using the serial IR tower

[edit] External links

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