Just writing to see if anyone has any experience with/recommendations for microcontrollers oriented towards those who are not good with written coding languages.
The only written coding language I've ever had any success with was pBASIC about a decade ago using Parallax's BASIC stamps. Even that was a limited success for me - every single instruction was an uphill battle fighting against syntax and trying to figure out what instructions to use to get the thing to do what I needed. I tried 'C' with an MSP430 a couple years ago - and boy, what a miserable failure that was. Complete waste of time and money for me. Couldn't even get the thing to blink an LED without stitching together bits and pieces of example code.
On the other hand, PLC class was my highest mark in tech school behind motor controls (relay logic). Once the usual software BS was sorted out on the PC end and I could get it to talk to the PLC, writing a complicated control loop with various subroutines and options for control of a simulated industrial process via modbus HMI was intuitive and enjoyable.
The difference was between traditional written languages (pBASIC and 'C') and a graphical one (ladder logic). I'm a very visual, hands-on thinker so it sort of makes sense to me that the latter clicked while the other two made me miserable. Something I can *see* vs getting lost in the weeds with syntax, conventions, symbology and invisible options associated with each instruction.
My question is: Are there any suggestions for beginner-oriented microcontrollers out there which permit the use of a graphical language? Not necessarily ladder logic, but at least something with a drag-and-drop or block-and-wire interface? I've noticed Parallax's Propeller 1 microcontrollers and those have taken my interest for their ability to use 'BlocklyProp' and their availability in a 40-DIP package. Has anyone had any experience with these? Are there other options out there also worth considering?
Thanks.
The only written coding language I've ever had any success with was pBASIC about a decade ago using Parallax's BASIC stamps. Even that was a limited success for me - every single instruction was an uphill battle fighting against syntax and trying to figure out what instructions to use to get the thing to do what I needed. I tried 'C' with an MSP430 a couple years ago - and boy, what a miserable failure that was. Complete waste of time and money for me. Couldn't even get the thing to blink an LED without stitching together bits and pieces of example code.
On the other hand, PLC class was my highest mark in tech school behind motor controls (relay logic). Once the usual software BS was sorted out on the PC end and I could get it to talk to the PLC, writing a complicated control loop with various subroutines and options for control of a simulated industrial process via modbus HMI was intuitive and enjoyable.
The difference was between traditional written languages (pBASIC and 'C') and a graphical one (ladder logic). I'm a very visual, hands-on thinker so it sort of makes sense to me that the latter clicked while the other two made me miserable. Something I can *see* vs getting lost in the weeds with syntax, conventions, symbology and invisible options associated with each instruction.
My question is: Are there any suggestions for beginner-oriented microcontrollers out there which permit the use of a graphical language? Not necessarily ladder logic, but at least something with a drag-and-drop or block-and-wire interface? I've noticed Parallax's Propeller 1 microcontrollers and those have taken my interest for their ability to use 'BlocklyProp' and their availability in a 40-DIP package. Has anyone had any experience with these? Are there other options out there also worth considering?
Thanks.
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