Arduino has become quite popular with people just starting out with electronics, and for good reason.
In this article, we tried to explain what Arduino is, why it is preferred and how it is programmed step by step, for those of you who do not know what it is.
What is Arduino?
To summarize, Arduino; It is an open hardware development board used by mechanics, hobbyists, and designers to design and manufacture devices that interact with the real world.
Arduino, an open source platform used to create electronic projects; It consists of both a physically programmable circuit board, also known as a microcontroller, and a piece of software or the IDE (Integrated Development Environment) that runs on your computer, which is used to write and load computer code onto the physical card.
Why Arduino?
Unlike previous programmable circuit boards, Arduino does not need a separate piece of hardware, also known as a programmer, to load new code onto the board; instead, just a USB cable will do the trick. In addition, Arduino provides a standard form factor that separates the functions of the microcontroller into a more accessible package; It makes it easy for you to learn to program with the Arduino IDE, which uses a simplified version of C++.
What does Arduino consist of?
Although the design of Arduinos has changed over the years, which includes a number of different parts and interfaces on a single circuit board, there are some basic parts that you are likely to find in any Arduino.
- Pins
- Power connector
- Microcontroller
- Serial connector
- Other minor components
Pins
There are two kinds of pins used to connect to various components you might want to use with the Arduino:
- Digital pin
- Analog pin
digital pin
Pins that can detect and process a single state, regardless of whether it is open or closed. Most Arduinos have 14 female I/O pins.
Analog Pin
Pins that sense a range of values, useful for more precise control. Generally, an Arduino has six analog pins. Also, these two pins are arranged in a particular pattern, so if you get a plug-in board designed to fit them, it will fit easily into most Arduino-compatible devices.
power connector
power connector; it powers both the device itself and connected components such as the LED and various sensors in exchange for very low power needs. The power connector can be connected to an AC adapter or a small battery.
microcontroller
The microcontroller is the primary chip that allows you to program the Arduino so that it can execute commands and make decisions based on various inputs. This chip varies depending on what kind of Arduino you buy; but these are usually Atmel controllers like an ATmega8, ATmega168, ATmega328, ATmega1280 or ATmega2560. The differences between these chips are subtle, but the biggest difference beginners will notice is the different amounts of onboard memory.
Serial connector
Serial connector implemented through a standard USB port on most new boards; allows you to communicate with the card from your computer and install new programs on the device. Arduinos can also be powered via the USB port, often eliminating the need for a separate power connection.
Other minor components
There are also fenced components, such as an oscillator and/or a voltage regulator, that make important contributions to the board; however, you usually don’t interact with them directly. Just know they are there.
How to program an Arduino?
Most Arduino enthusiasts, especially beginners; It prefers to use the official integrated development environment for Arduino i.e. IDE. Arduino IDE is open source software written in Java and running on various platforms such as Windows, Mac and Linux. The IDE allows you to code in a custom environment with syntax highlighting and other features to make coding easier, and then easily upload your code to the device with a simple one click.
Arduino code is usually written with Wiring, which is based on the Processing programming language.
Arduino programming step by step:
- Step #1: Do a little research
- Step #2: Install Arduino programmer
- Step #3: Connect your Arduino to your computer’s USB port
- Step #4: Set the card type and serial port
- Step #5: Test the microcontroller
- Step #6: Upload new code to Arduino
- Step #7: Disconnect Arduino from your computer and integrate it into your project
Do a little research
Arduino uses a variety of microcontrollers. The most widely used of these is Arduino UNO; but there are also some customized variations. That’s why it can be very useful to do a little research on which version would be more suitable for your project before you move on to the build phase.
Install the Arduino programmer
Install the integrated development program, Arduino Programmer, also known as the IDE.
Connect your Arduino to the computer’s USB port
You may need to use a specific USB cable for this process. Each Adruino has a different virtual port address, so you may need to reconfigure the port if you are using different Arduinos.
Set the card type and serial port
There isn’t much to explain for this item; After handling the USB port, the next step you need to do is to set the card type and serial port.
Test the microcontroller
Test the microcontroller using one of the programs preloaded into the Arduino Programmer, called a sketch. After you open one of the sample templates and press ‘upload’, the Arduino will start responding to the program: For example, if you set an LED beam to blink, if you did everything right, the light would start blinking.
Upload the new code to Arduino
To upload the new code to the Arduino, you must have access to the code that you can copy to the programmer, or if you are going to create your own sketch, you must write it yourself using the Arduino software language. An Arduino sketch usually consists of five parts:
- A caption depicting the sketch and its creator
- A section defining variables
- A setup scheme that sets the initial conditions for variables and runs the precode
- A loop pattern where you add the main code that will be executed over and over until the draft stops working
- And finally a section where you can list other functions enabled during setup and loop patterns
All templates must include setup and loop layout.
Disconnect Arduino from your computer and integrate it into your project
After uploading your sketch to Arduino, disconnect Adruino from your computer and integrate it into your project. As long as you do all these steps without errors, your Arduino will be successfully programmed.
We have come to the end of our article, where we describe Arduino as much as possible, along with what it is, what it consists of and how it is programmed. I hope our article was able to answer some of the question marks in your mind.
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