Programming Arduino: Getting Started with Sketches (Tab)

I bought this little gem two years ago and I'm writing this review in 2020 amidst the global pandemic, so I've got some spare time to read. I'm not a programmer nor an electronics specialist. Otherwise, why would I be purchasing something like this? I come from an industrial chemistry backgroud, but always felt drawn to electronics. Anyways. This book is about software on how to deal with and what to expect, when playing around with not so much the board, but the programming language details and rules themsleves. I took a class on C programming back in my day, but for my interests I ended up considering it a waste of my time. I just couldn't get my head around concepts like arrays, strings, structures and pointers I just saw no use in them. Little did I know that the Arduinos would come along and with them, the opportunity to make amazing and fun and useful gadgets. You see, when you work with chemicals and formulations, some "automatic help" always comes handy. And I'm not taling about super state of the art crazy lab gear, no. Simple mixers a little bigger than the usual, heaters, temperature controllers, pHmeters, coolers, blowers, dryers and other devices that you need for this kind of work. Not everything has to be OEM. Sometimes you have to improvise on the fly. But yo have to be precise, or the preparation will go bad. Enter Arduino. I knew someday I'd make use of them for whatever purpose. I thought it would be easy. Not so. And not so much on the electronics, but on the programming side of things. Somewhere I read that the language of choice for programming microcontrollers in a more productive fashion is C. Quickly I learned and understood that Assembler is for the pros, for important commercial projects and products that must comply with regulations and such. I've read that proffesional embedded programmers laugh at the idea of using C for a serious project. And I get it. (I also smile when I hear electronic guys saying they will clean everything with isopropanol.) I think I get it programming a PIC imposes some serious thinking and for more advanced hobbyists, programming a PIC in C is quite an accomplishment. I wish I could do that. So Arduino is more friendy for the newbie. As it turns out, C being portable is the way to go when you don't care that much about memory and other resoruces, and don't the responsabilities an embedded engineer has. When I first opened the book, I instantly recognized the C logic in ti. Right off the bat in page 27 the author establishes that "the programming language used to program an Arduino is a language called C." But my C was really really really rusty. Honestly, non existent. Si I humbled myself and put the book to rest. And two years went by. About two months ago when all this global pandemic situation started, I ordered the dummy C language book series by Dan Gookin; there's three of them (c for dummies, c desk reference and c programming) and as of bow I've already read the three of them and done most of the exercises. These last 6 or 7 weeks have been a self-taught journey learning, I've been very fortunate to have all this time sice I've done pretty much nothing else but discovering and exploring the C language on my own and I've enjoyed it very much. Dennis Ritchie sir, thank you very much. So now that I've finished Dr. Monk's programming Arduino book I compare my reading like a walk in the park. I can finally say I find it ridiculously easy to read and analyze C code for the Arduino. At last this programming is all fun and I'm a 40 year old chemical guy. Yeah, I'm one of those that works with acids and solvents and reactants. It never crossed my mind the C programming class I took years ago, would come as a flashback to reveal to me how useful the language would turn out to be, for playing around with my own electronic gadgets. I'm hooked. I've already ordered the second part of this series. Now I'm thinking maybe 2-3 years from now, exploring PIC will not be an outrageous idea. But as I said, the C language comes first. Otherwise, you will struggle.

If you have been trying to read someone else's sketches and don't understand done of what they're doing, this book is for you.

I was between giving this book 3-4 stars. I read it cover to cover in a few evenings. It isn't that long. I had experience programming in Java but none in C or C++. This does definitely get you started in the basics. I wish it was a little more comprehensive. I also thinks some of the things it chooses to expand on such as using Arduino as a webserver are interesting an interesting choice. It does give you enough of the language structure that you should be able to start building your own language but doesn't go into detail on a lot of how the language directly applies to components. I feel like one of the main example projects, 'morse code' one was a little convoluted. Overall though I am glad I read it and was definitely good background for building some code in the Arduino ide.

The Arduino is a computer, but not as we generally think of a computer today. You would not write a book or do your taxes on an Arduino (though theoretically I guess it is possible). The Arduino is for controlling pretty well anything that has electrical components in it. For example: use it to sense the dryness of the soil, the brightness of the day, the humidity of the air, the temperature, etc, then have it run your watering system to produce perfect tomatoes while you sit back and watch. In short, you would connect a multitude of sensors to the Arduino, and also a relay to turn on the water pump. Fortunately there are a multitude of sensors available, generally at very low cost. Also, there are a multitude of books to tell you how to wire up these sensors (and your pump). However, there are not many books that tell you how to write the software (it is called a "Sketch" in Arduino-land"), to ensure the brain - The Arduino- does exactly what you want it to. True, it is out there on the web, but scattered in all directions, and if you are new to the language used (a variation of C++), you probably won't know what to look for. Also, great chunks of the software are already written for you - they are called Libraries - , but you need to know where to find them, which ones you want, and how to integrate them into your Sketch.This book will show you all this and more. It starts slowly, then gathers speed, but never enough to leave you behind. There will be times you need to read some part of the code several times, write it out, think about it, and wait for the light to go on in your brain. Don't worry, this book won't leave you behind, but don't think that a quick skim through the pages will leave you a computing genius. Computer software is very logical (unlike humans), and any errors in the the code (syntax errors) will need to be sorted out. But, there is plenty here in this excellent book to turn you into a decent Arduino programmer, after that you may want to dive into more advanced text, it is not essential, but you may just get the bug!

Pretty good book. Wish it was a little more advanced but still a good basic book.

Thank you Simon Monk. Finally An Arduino book that actually explains the coding. Most books like this will spend chapters telling you what an LED is. Nothing about the coding which is the most problematic. Simon covers this well. That is why it is a five star rating.

The book came in perfect condition and is really helping me understand more about programming for the Arduino. Thanks!

I received in time and in good conditions. The content is a little bit basic but that was my intention, to get the basics. The book has a presentable cover but inside i found that it was not well printed.

Fantastic book for beginners to Arduino and programming in general. This has defdinately got me into programming, so much so I'm planning on doing Computer Science at University next year!It is laid out well and everything is well explained and described. The main niggle I have is with the 'Internet of Things' chapter which not only needs a board that the majority of people will not have, as they have purchased this as a beginner's book along with an Arduino Uno. It was also poorly explained, with three pages of code about how to make one sketch with barely any of it being explained. It seemed too advanced for this book and I feel could be left out. Another thing is the book is in American English, but then I found out the author is actually English, bit odd.Great book though, I am currently reading the 'sequel' book 'Next Steps.

I bought 'Programming Arduino' to complement 'The Arduino Project Handbook' because I am trying to develop a serious project and I need to fully understand the C/C++ programming language as implemented in the Arduino. I am delighted to find that this book fully meets my expectations. Despite what so many authors say, C is not easy to use and C++ is arcane. There is a lot of subtlety even in simple assignment statement likeconst int ledPin = 13;or in appreciating what I ++; means.Simon covers all aspects of the C language with advice on good programming practice, essential for maintaining and extending code. He has a chapter on C++ and libraries. He describes the basic concepts of C++ and libraries, but he rightly advises readers to seek other references if they need to understand object-orientated programming. He has some good examples that show how to solve quite complex real-world problems.Libraries are an essential aspect of programming the Arduino because they contain the procedures needed to handle the low-level control of the hardware: you do not want to get bogged down with the operation of the hardware registers (which is often extremely technical) if you have a serious project. But, by and large libraries are badly documented and it is often unclear which ones you need to include. Simon does not cover these aspects, which is hardly surprising as they are specific to particular hardware and constantly evolve. This is the point where you will have outgrown the book - by then you will be a competent programmer, and hopefully able to fend for yourself.

It's hard to know who this book is aimed at. It seems too high a level for an absolute beginner in Arduino programming but then suddenly leaps to much more complex stuff like working with a wifi shield. I would have liked to see about 30 more pages in the middle of the book as a bridge between the straightforward and the more complex.It's useful to be able to download the example programs.

Good book but loses a star because it is not really suitable for beginners as explanations of some key principles are, in my opinion, too brief! For intermediate to advanced users it's a handy reference!

Good for the beginner like me!. Very clearly put and easy to learn