Pretty much all of the code I’ve written for the Raspberry Pi (and the BeagleBone for that matter) has been in Python. It’s widely regarded as the de facto language for the platform, not least because it is newbie-friendly. But does it have to be this way? Ups and downs of Python It’s not hard to enumerate a long list of… Read more »
The DottyMatrix project began when I thought, ‘It would be nice to make use of my old Epson MX-80 F/T III dot matrix printer’. The problem was talking to it. But then I thought, ‘It’s just parallel printer interface. I’ll make a microcontroller-based device to act as an interface. How hard can that be?’. The answer, it turns out, is… Read more »
It seems like an obvious point, but it’s sometimes handy to know what your code is up to. If you normally write code for desktop systems – and especially if you’re hacking out something that works on the command line – then it’s easy. Just pepper your program with print statements to show the state of play. (Then try to… Read more »
So here’s a confession: I hate make files. And I’m really not all that keen on the whole compilation thing, with all those flags and whatnot. Why? Because I’m lazy. But of late I’ve felt myself drawn back to C++. There is something about the language that both appeals to me and repulses me. Mostly those make files. So this… Read more »
Do you ever get the feeling that a compiler is acting weird just to mess with your head? That’s how it felt yesterday. I was tinkering with the code for my HexMonitor. This uses an ATMEGA328P microcontroller to read values in from an eight-bit data bus or a 16-bit address bus (selectable via a switch) and display them on a… Read more »
Once you’ve set up a pin, or a whole port’s worth of pins, as inputs or outputs, it’s time to start writing and reading values. This series is part of my learning process and I hope it will help others who, like me, are embarking on projects such as programming AVR chips. The way I learn things is to write… Read more »
I confess I’m really enjoying delving into the secrets of AVR microprocessors. Having used Arduinos for some time now – as well as other AVR-based boards such as the mighty and wonderful Teensy – I came to the conclusion that I’m a master at µcontroller hacking. Working with ‘raw’ AVR processors quickly disabused me of that notion. The Arduino ecosphere shields you from a… Read more »