[chbot] APC Magazine Arduino Article

[Morris]

Tim

Programming an Arduino is hard and has many show-stopper problems for
the novice. I think your articles will have to dedicate a large amount
of space to the basics of the development environment and how to program
the Arduino ... complex stuff for a novice who just wants to achieve
some project using an Arduino.

One alternative worth considering is to install python, pyserial and
pyduino on a PC, and Standard_Firmata sketch on the Arduino (I
personally would have loved to have just a hex file for the Duemilanove
with instructions for using avrdude).

Benefits:

1) For an article series, there are lots of fantastic things you can do
with a PC that has a hardware interface. PC's are traditionally
difficult to interface with real hardware - the Arduino is a great
solution to that problem!

2) Python: Python is brilliant for novices. Python programming at the PC
allows you to quickly try different programs, with debugging "print"
statements. You can assume a novice will just "get" Python with little
explanation, whereas C is an advanced topic (types anyone!?). I have
very little experience with Python but it has been a pleasure to use
(and it is well known to be a great language for novices and experts
alike).

3) Avoiding getting depressed by C/IDE frustrations (I have experience
in those areas and I still find them to be a huge timesink). The
electronics interfacing is where most of my time goes and I reserve my
frustrations for that area!

4) You can presume a lot about a user's knowledge of PCs.

My idea of a good series of articles is one that gives some excellent
examples of fun things to do, where it is obvious how to modify those
examples to do something else I want to do. 

The main downside is that the Standard Firmata does not have servo
control and I agree servos would be fantastic for your articles (there
is a servo firmata but it is very limited). I love servos and want to
control them from my PC (I intend to integrate
http://www.arduino.cc/playground/ComponentLib/Servo into the Standard
Firmata but am away for a month so not going to happen soon!).

Disclaimer: I am a programmer by trade, have an EE degree, and have
worked in embedded design so I am not your target audience!

I do think it is a great topic for a series of articles!

Cheers

Morris

On Mon, 2009-08-03 at 23:00 +1200, Tim Carr wrote:

> Hi all, I'm hoping I may be able to help me with some ideas. I've been
> asked by APC Magazine in Australia to write a series of articles
> related to getting started with Arduino. APC have picked up on the
> growing popularity of the platform and I've been tasks with writing a
> complete beginners article that gives them an interesting grounding in
> Arduino in just 2-3 magazine pages and followed on by one or two more
> advanced articles.
> 
> The challenge I see is not so much in the technology but in picking an
> interesting first project that leaves them with the desire to
> experiment and extend their knowledge. As a result I'm loath to start
> with the blinking light 'hello world' as I imagine there must be
> better options that haven't been thrashed. I must admit though, at
> this point it really does seem to be the best fit. Please prove me
> wrong....please.
> 
> So, my question is this: When you started building robots, what really
> took your fancy and what do you feel may be a good starting
> 'micro-project' for others to start with?
> 
> One aim (that may be asking too much) is to develop the howto in such
> a way that the initial article demonstrates the key essential elements
> of Arduino setup and use while being easily extended in the second
> article to produce something fun and functional. So perhaps the first
> may be setting up a servo to move and the second may make it follow
> the light (I'm not sure if that's too hard for newbies but you get my
> drift).
> 
> Thanks in advance for any thought you can share on this.
> 
> -- 
> Regards,
> Tim
> MindKits Chief Ninja
> 
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