Programming Arduino: Getting Started with Sketches, Second Edition (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.

I've been a professional coder for almost 30 years. So I was a bit bored reading page after page of how to write C code. But this book is a "Getting Started" book so that's to be expected. It does a great job of delving into the how's and why's of Arduino coding and teaching C basics. If you're not a coder this will certainly get you started. It steps you through the entire process of writing sketches with plenty of examples. I especially like (from the beginners POV) the way the author shows you the most basic way to do something, then introduces alternate methods of coding that allows breaking up and structuring code to allow more flexible, powerful program. (Such as the Morse code example programs.) It shows the basics of communicating with external sensors and switches. (It even discusses "Bouncing" - a common problem when writing hardware interfaces.) I haven't finished the book yet. I've just reached the Arduino Standard Library - the section that really interests me. I'm hoping that by the end of the book I'll find suggestions on writing the tightest, most concise code to cram as much functionality as possible in the smallest footprint. (Arduinos don't have much nonvolatile memory.)

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.

It got me started as expected. I just wish I stuck with it.

Fantastic and focused book. The author does a fantastic job explaining step-by-step the explanations leading up to why code is used. This is a concise book, so don't expect to become a programming god after reading it. You will know enough to program the Arduino, however. It also does not cover much on the electronics side at all, he has another book on electronics for that. I appreciate the focus and conciseness of this book. There are not a lot of words wasted going on about all the uses for making an LED turn on or home automation, etc. Just to the point. I saw one reviewer complaining about the debounce explanation not being good. Perhaps that was another edition of the book, but like all other explanations, the author explained this one in a gradual way that let you understand from a basic level what was going on. Fantastic book. I would say that if you have never programmed before, it may be a little difficult to follow some of the code, but that is too be expected.

So glad there is a great beginner's book out there to walk me through my new hobby. When you order an uno board, it throws you right in there with building small projects. That's great but I have NO CLUE what I'm doing. I can follow pictures and read directions but I want to know what is going on with the board, the circuits and programming. I just got this book today and read the first chapter and this is exactly what I need. Learned about the hardware of the board, next chapter is a simple sketch that teaches you the basic of the basics of programming. Never programmed a day in your life? It's ok because the author comments on every line in the program so you know what the line of code does. I'm only on page 17 and I can tell the book is excellent. Thank you for a simple, easy to understand book that allows me to understand what I'm doing instead of kiddie scripting everything and trying to hack code together!

Recently, having a need to develop a couple projects using an Arduino I bought this book to familiarize myself with programming them. I haven't programmed in C for 20 years but with the help of this book was able to bang out a couple of sketches pretty quickly. It will make a nice reference as I refine these projects. Keep in mind, if you are new to Arduino programming, that most sketches (what the Arduino folks call Arduino programs) make use of libraries that you can download. You will need to find the documentation for the libraries at the download source as it is obviously beyond the scope of a book like this to document them. The book contains a bunch of sketches that show the basics of programming, of using the I/O pins and communication with the outside world. This book should give you a solid foundation for creating your own sketches.

Despite its name, this really isn't a Getting Started book. Yes, in the first few chapters it seems that way, but it quickly gets into terms that are mentioned, but not really explained (e.g., debouncing), explained in terms only an experienced Arduino programmer would understand (e.g., displays), or only an experienced web developer would understand (e.g., IoT programming). I also found the explanation of analog pins and PIN naming conventions confusing. I'm a long-time C/C++ developer, but new to Arduino. I still read the C/C++ introductory chapters. Very few people without a C background will understand the basic C introduction or the examples I listed. Put another way, if you're a beginner (a person who wants to get started with Sketches, with no C background), learn and write some fundamental C programs before digging into Arduino programming. If you know C and are a beginner to the Arduino and would like to see some basic examples, this book might help you, but given its short length and 4 chapters of that brief length providing a not very good C/C++ programming introduction, there are better ways to learn the Arduino. In this case, find a book or on-line examples that provide sufficient detail so you're not just copying code and having no idea what it's doing. A Getting Started book really should discuss using a breadboard, wire wrapping, maybe soldering, and provide fundamental electronic concepts (basic schematics). I also bought Hacking Electronics from the same author, which I've just started reading and seems more in line with learning the Arduino (and then some) from the perspective of hardware. I think that is a better approach as it fills the gap between the Arduino (and similar hardware) and the on-line or printed Project books.

Introducción seria y gradual al universo de los microcontroladores Arduino y al lenguaje C

I paid for a new book but it came with water damage. The upper right corner of all pages are even with marks suggesting the book was soaked and then dried. Horrible for Amazon to do this.

C'est un excellent livre pour apprendre à programmer en langage C sur un Arduino.

Interessant

Really well structured and written intro to Arduino. Has a balance style between conversational and instructional which is perfect. The examples and files were very accessable and well done. Get this and the sequel for a solid understanding of Arduino which is also portable to other boards like esp32 etc.