(no subject)

[unbibium]

So the only output device I have for this Arduino board is a blinky light. So I whipped together some code that outputs morse code through it.

But since my only input device is a button that I finally wedged into the right holes, code that reads morse code might be more useful. As it stands, I can only put text at compile time.

But that's just a trivial C++ exercise. Circuit design is the really new stuff.

Comments

[lautreamontg.livejournal.com]

How long would you say it would take a tech dummy to teach himself C++? I remember jack from DeVry, it got pushed out by all the information on how to make myself the next Elron Hubbard.

[pentomino.livejournal.com]

As always, it depends on the source material and the tools you have at hand.

It'd be easier to start with a language like Python or Ruby. Not only are those a little more forgiving, but they have an immediate mode that you can play around in, like the old 8-bit BASICs had. You can even try them in a browser: http://www.trypython.org/ or http://tryruby.org/

Also, Java has aged gracefully, and Head First Java (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596009208/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=therpen-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0596009208) was how I learned it. (They touched on it at DeVry but I'd forgotten it all by the time I picked this book up.)

[lautreamontg.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I strictly want to learn for the sole purpose of Arduino. I mean it seems like every nifty hack in circuit bending uses it, as well as quite a few of the repurposing 8 bit stuff into synths.

[pentomino.livejournal.com]

Well, the starter kit I got has some type-in programs you should be able to learn from. You won't need any enterprise-level C++ with crazy object-oriented design to do what needs to be done.

If you don't want to risk any money, you can download Processing (http://processing.org/); the IDE and language is the same, but you can write desktop and web programs with it. It's full of tutorials and examples.