Tutorial: Introduction to the Arduino

--D. Thiebaut 15:18, 20 April 2011 (EDT)

Misc. Information Before You Start

Good Reference Pages

Good Tutorials on the Web

Arduino Tutorial at UCLA

Notes for Mac Users

You may have to install special drivers for your Mac to see the Arduino through the USB Port. Look here for more info: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm

Arduino-Laptop Setup

Programs are written on the laptop
Programs are compiled on the laptop
Programs are downloaded to the Arduino
Programs run on the Arduino
Programs output information via the USB cable, and this information is captured by the IDE which shows it in the Serial Monitor.
The Arduino inputs information that the User types in the Serial Monitor. This information is sent via the USB cable to the Arduino.

An Introduction to C in the Arduino Context

Comments

// this is a comment
/* and so is this */
/* and
    this 
    as 
    well */

Setup() and Loop()

Output

Output strings from the Arduino to Laptop

Done with the Serial library
Use Serial.begin() to set the baud rate (# of bits per second)
Then output strings with Serial.println( ... ) or Serial.print( ... )

void setup() {                
 Serial.begin( 38400 );
 Serial.println( "Hello there!" );
}

void loop() {
 delay(1000);              // wait for a second
 Serial.println( "hello again!" );
}

Output numbers

Taken from http://arduino.cc/en/Serial/Print
- Serial.print(78) gives "78"
- Serial.print(1.23456) gives "1.23"
- Serial.print(byte(78)) gives "N" (whose ASCII value is 78)
- Serial.print('N') gives "N"
- Serial.print("Hello world.") gives "Hello world."

An optional second parameter specifies the base (format) to use; permitted values are BYTE, BIN (binary, or base 2), OCT (octal, or base 8), DEC (decimal, or base 10), HEX (hexadecimal, or base 16). For floating point numbers, this parameter specifies the number of decimal places to use. For example:

- Serial.print(78, BYTE) gives "N"
- Serial.print(78, BIN) gives "1001110"
- Serial.print(78, OCT) gives "116"
- Serial.print(78, DEC) gives "78"
- Serial.print(78, HEX) gives "4E"
- Serial.println(1.23456, 0) gives "1"
- Serial.println(1.23456, 2) gives "1.23"
- Serial.println(1.23456, 4) gives "1.2346"

Inputting characters

Use Serial.read() and Serial.available(), as illustrated below

void setup() {                
  Serial.begin( 38400 );
  Serial.println( "Enter one characterA in the console and send it: " );
}

void loop() {
  int charByte;
  
  if ( Serial.available() > 0 ) {
    charByte = Serial.read();
    Serial.print( charByte, DEC );
    Serial.print( " is " );
    Serial.print( charByte, HEX );
    Serial.print( " in hex.\n\n\n" );
    Serial.println( "Enter another character in the console and send it: " );
  }
}

Statements

statement;
statement;
statement;
// comment
statement;
compound-statement {
       statement;
       statement;
}

Control Statements

IF

if ( condition equal to 0 or different from 0 ) {
      // Action A
}
else {
      // Action B
}

FOR

same syntax and structure as in Java.
you can declare the variable in the loop.
the variable is undefined outside the loop.

for ( int i = 0; i < 100; i++ ) {
      statement;
      statement;
}

SWITCH

works with countable variables (not floats).

switch (var) {
   case 1:
     //do something when var equals 1
     break;
   case 2:
     //do something when var equals 2
     break;
   default: 
     // if nothing else matches, do the default
     // default is optional
 }

WHILE

while (expression evaluating to 0 or something different from 0 ) {
    statement;
    statement;
    statement;
}

BREAK/CONTINUE

break: break out of the most inner loop it is located in.
continue: skips the remainder of the current loop and returns to the closest for or while statement.

Variables and Data Types

void
boolean
char
unsigned char
byte
int
unsigned int
word
long
unsigned long
float
double
string (array of chars)
String (object) (see http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/StringObject)
array (see http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/Array)

Examples

int LEDpin = 5;       // LED on pin 5
int switchPin = 13;   // momentary switch on 13, other side connected to ground
boolean running = false;

char myChar = 'A';
char myChar = 65;      // both are equivalent

byte b = B10010;  // "B" is the binary formatter (B10010 = 18 decimal) 

float myfloat;
float sensorCalbrate = 1.117;

char Str1[15];
char Str2[8] = {'a', 'r', 'd', 'u', 'i', 'n', 'o'};
char Str3[8] = {'a', 'r', 'd', 'u', 'i', 'n', 'o', '\0'}; 
char Str4[ ] = "arduino";
char Str5[8] = "arduino";
char Str6[15] = "arduino";

String stringOne = "Hello String";                     // using a constant String 
String stringOne =  String('a');                       // converting a constant char into a String
String stringTwo =  String("This is a string");        // converting a constant string into a String object
String stringOne =  String(stringTwo + " with more");  // concatenating two strings
String stringOne =  String(13);                        // using a constant integer
String stringOne =  String(analogRead(0), DEC);        // using an int and a base
String stringOne =  String(45, HEX);                   // using an int and a base (hexadecimal)
String stringOne =  String(255, BIN);                  // using an int and a base (binary)
String stringOne =  String(millis(), DEC);             // using a long and a base

int myInts[6];
int myPins[] = {2, 4, 8, 3, 6};
int mySensVals[6] = {2, 4, -8, 3, 2};
char message[6] = "hello";

Exercise: Create a sketch based on the Blink sketch (in File/Examples/1. Basics) that outputs alternatively "hello" one second, then your name the next second, in an endless loop.

Exercise: Create a sketch that outputs the word Green one second, then outputs Yellow the next, then outputs Red the next, returning to Green the second after that. See example below.

Exercise: Same as previous one, but make the delay between outputs a quarter of a second.

Digital Output

The Basics

The Arduino sports 14 output pins: Digital 0 to 13
Steps:
- in setup(), use pinMode() to identify what pin you will use, and set the direction of data transfer as OUTPUT
- in loop(), use digitalWrite( ) to output HIGH or LOW to that pin.

Example

int ledPin = 13;                 // LED connected to digital pin 13

void setup()
{
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);      // sets the digital pin as output
}

void loop()
{
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);   // sets the LED on
  delay(1000);                  // waits for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);    // sets the LED off
  delay(1000);                  // waits for a second
}

Lab

Follow the steps from http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Blink and create a similar system. Instead of soldering the LED to the resistor, use the breadboard or aligator clips.

Exercise

Exercise: Use the same approach and create a sketch that will controls 3 LEDs (which will represent a Green light, Yellow light, and Red light), and will alternate between all three in a cycle.

Digital Input

The approach is similar to the one take for output bits.

Lab

Follow the steps from http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Button, and control the on-board LED with the external switch.

Exercise

Exercise: Replace the on-board LED by an external LED wired in a way similiar to the previous exercise.

Tutorial: Introduction to the Arduino

Contents

Misc. Information Before You Start

Good Reference Pages

Good Tutorials on the Web

Notes for Mac Users

Arduino-Laptop Setup

An Introduction to C in the Arduino Context

Comments

Setup() and Loop()

Output

Output strings from the Arduino to Laptop

Output numbers

Inputting characters

Statements

Control Statements

IF

FOR

SWITCH

WHILE

BREAK/CONTINUE

Variables and Data Types

Digital Output

The Basics

Lab

Exercise

Digital Input

Lab

Exercise

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