Learning NCL

NCL is the native programming language of the NCS/e.

This section teaches NCL from the beginning. No previous programming experience is required. You do not need to know assembly language, computer architecture, or how a CPU works before you start.

If you have never written a program before, you are in the right place.

How these lessons work

The lessons build on one another.

We will start with very small programs and introduce new concepts as they become useful. Each lesson assumes that you are familiar with the material from the lessons before it.

You will not learn every NCL instruction here, and you are not expected to memorize them. The goal is to learn how NCL programs work, how to read them, and how to build your own programs one piece at a time.

Along the way, you will be encouraged to change the example programs, predict what they will do, and run them again.

Experiment. If a change doesn't work, you can always change it back.

Following the lessons

If you are new to programming, we recommend working through the lessons in order, beginning with NCL 101: Hello, World!.

Later lessons build on concepts introduced in earlier ones. If something in a lesson is unfamiliar, you can return to an earlier lesson and try its examples again.

You do not need to understand everything immediately before continuing. Being able to follow what an example is doing is enough.

If you already know how to program

If you already have programming experience, you may find the early lessons quite slow.

You are welcome to skim them, skip ahead, or go directly to the NCL Reference.

The reference describes NCL instructions and system behavior in detail and is intended primarily for looking things up. This section is intended to teach those concepts progressively.

What you need

To follow the examples, you need an assembled and working NCS/e.

If you have not set up your computer yet, start with the User Guide.

Otherwise, continue with NCL 101: Hello, World!.