HOw to begin robot making

I joined college this year and i also joined robotics club thinking that they will teach how to programme in asm .They are using a compiler called bascom for programming atmega16 microprocessor in basic.But i want to programme a robot in asm or c.So what compiler should i use and how do i burn the programme in microprocessor.I heard of programmer .What is it.Is it a cable used to transfer the programme in the microprocessor
After writing a programme in a baascom the demonstrater clicked a option called burn inm the bascom compiler.The PCB board was connected to a microprocessor with a cable which went behind the CPU where the printer goes .Is that cable called a programmer.But if i amake a programme for a line follwer in my dev c++ compiler how do i transfer it to the microprocessor because in Dev c++ we dont have a burn option.

You can get AVR Studio from the Atmel website, it's a free download. It has an assembler, debugger, simulator, burner ( and likely a few other things ). It direct from the chip manufacturer, so it works, and safe. Bascom is also a free download, but limited to 4k of code, have to pay if you need more. WinAVR is a completely free 'C' compiler.