Hello, new here, eager to listen and to learn. Thinking I want to try and teach myself programming one of these days when im able to afford a programmer. I figure arduino might be right for a beginner, what do you think about that?
I'm glad to be here and hope to learn a lot from you all. Have a great day!

 

Hello, new here, eager to listen and to learn. Thinking I want to try and teach myself programming one of these days when im able to afford a programmer. I figure arduino might be right for a beginner, what do you think about that?
I'm glad to be here and hope to learn a lot from you all. Have a great day!

Smaller systems are cheaper and easier to start on. BASIC is pretty easy. The BASIC Stamp is a cheap start. Arduino is pretty good also.
A computer with a USB is all you need. Be careful and don't buy stuff for older serial or parallel ports.

 

BASIC is a writer like arduino where you load on the PIC and upload the code?

 

Is that where you would start as a beginner?

 

BASIC is a writer like arduino where you load on the PIC and upload the code?

Simply put, yes, that's about right.

 

Is that where you would start as a beginner?

I haven't been a beginner for about 40 years.
Classes in school are good. But for self study these are good starting places. There are many types out there. Spend some time gathering information on them.

 

Depends on your goal and experience. Are you experienced in electronics? Programming? Then a PIC might be the best choice.

An Arduino is a good choice if you want the little details already solved for you and want a simple method of uploading your programs.

You could get an Arduino programmed with an LED blink program in 15 minutes. But you trade the ease of starting for later restrictions when you include the microprocessor in a project. It is programmed in C, whose syntax is more difficult than BASIC, but I learned by example.

I know. I created a prototype animatronic controller with custom programming language with an Arduino. But mass production is less than satisfactory because of the way the Arduino interfaces with the rest of the world. (Headers, plugs, screw terminals.... would like a solderable PCB with connection appropriate plugs and jacks)

Some advocate starting with an Arduino and moving on. Could be a good strategy. I am on that road now. I would comment on a PIC solution, but I have no experience.

So where do you think your abilities and requirements are?

 

To get another perspective, you could also look over the tutorials such as the Nigel Goodwin's one for the PIC, he has the code in Assembly on his site, but there is also the equivalent code in C posted on the net by someone and can be found easily with a search.
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk/pic_tutorial.htm
Max.

 

You don't need anything except for a PC to learn programming. If you mean programming for MCUs then there are simulators, many of them free, which will run your MCU programs on your computer without any hardware. Certainly will be enough to start learning.

 

Download codeblocks and start programming in C. You can start by making a simple Ohms law calculator. After that you can start learning to program MCUs.
You can program AVR MCU's with atmel studio and a cheap usbasp.

Here is a good tutorial series.

 

Arduino is a good and inexpensive starting point. The least expensive ones are less than $5.

Hard to go wrong with that kind of pricing.

 

If you have more money, a more capable system can be had with ST's Nucleo boards. Typically around $10. Also all contained.

 

You can easily spend more and get less than the Nucleo boards.

 

There are tons of online projects using the Arduino development platform. It is a very good choice and you can find Arduino clones very cheap on BangGood, DealExtreme, eBay, etc.

I use the "more advanced" PIC and AVR chips for most things, but I still have Arduinos for the speed and simplicity of testing out ideas.

 

Hello, new here, eager to listen and to learn. Thinking I want to try and teach myself programming one of these days when im able to afford a programmer. I figure arduino might be right for a beginner, what do you think about that?
I'm glad to be here and hope to learn a lot from you all. Have a great day!

Hello,

I just joined a moment ago. I'm also eager to learn more about programming, micro controllers and electronics. I'm heavily time strapped and start things that I cannot carry out as far as I'd like. Perhaps AAC will help. Here are some things that I have tried:

• Book: Arduino Robot Bonanza by Gordon McComb <--outstanding project-based book on how to use use the Arduino and other electronics to build a very low cost robot. Gordon McComb explains things nicely.

• Free Coursera course: Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python) by Chuck Severance <- 11-week, slow paced intro to programming using Python. This class is taught in a very straight forward manner. I highly recommend this class.

• Raspberry PI as your computing platform to learn Python. From there, you can integrate Arduino with Raspberry PI.
  • The latest Raspberry PI is cheap and quite powerful https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-3-on-sale/ .
  • There are additional micro controller and embedded systems courses on Coursera that can also keep you moving. (Now, if I can only practice my own advice).

I hope this helps