Introduction

FTCAtlas is meant to be a comprehensive programming reference for First Tech Challenge teams, encompassing everything from beginner to advanced topics. Since starting FTC in 2022, I've noticed that most programming information is spread thin across different platforms. Some sites attempt to dive deep into specific areas, while others aim to cover everything... but often stop short. Explanations tend to be surface-level, which for all intents and purposes, should be perfectly fine, if not for the fact that there isn't always enough base knowledge to build from.

FTCAtlas was created to address that.

Most programming guides assume you know where to start and how to finish. This one assumes you don't. Every topic is covered from the ground up, not just with code, but also with the context behind it and why it matters. The goal of this resource is to make sure that aspiring teams don't get stuck. Not because the ideas are too advanced, but because the explanations don't really get far enough to begin with. If this guide can help a team avoid falling into that kind of "plateau," then it's doing what it's meant to.

Evidently, most topics covered here will be supported by code, but not the kind you drop into your project and expect to work out of the box. There's a Romanian saying: "primești totul mură-n gură", which roughly translates to "you get everything handed to you mouth-to-mouth", or in other words, you receive everything ready-made without effort. This guide deliberately tries to avoid that approach. The goal is not to hand you over a complete codebase, rather it's to give you the understanding needed to apply concepts correctly and adapt to whatever challenge FTC throws you next season. Moreover, every major topic of interest is also paired with an accompanying video that's meant to offer additional context beyond what's written here.

Thus, the only prerequisite required is that you actually want to understand what you're doing.