Arduino Terminology
Mar 3, 2017 14:37:42 GMT
Post by c3po on Mar 3, 2017 14:37:42 GMT
Arduino Terminology
For those of you new to Arduino, it might help to understand a few terms that are frequently used by people talking about Arduino but are very non-standard.
Sketch
This is the term used for a program.
Shield
This is a circuit board that can be plugged on top of an Arduino. Shields have a variety of applications. For example, our Vernier Interface Arduino Shield allows you to easily connect our sensors to an Arduino.
Processing Code
This is the programming environment used most often with Arduino. It can be downloaded (free) from arduino.cc. It is a somewhat simplified version of the C programming language.
IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
This is the software application that is run to provide the tools to allow you to develop software for the Arduino. It includes the source code editor, build automation, and debugger.
Pulse-Width Modulation
One of the nice things about Arduino boards is that, even though they do not have true analog output lines, they can approximate an analog output voltage that you can control. This is done using pulse-width modulation (PWM), where the voltage at a digital line is changed from low to high at a high frequency, and the fraction of the time it is on (called the duty cycle) is varied.
IDE - Integrated Development Environment, A GUI including a code editor, a compiler, and a debugger. Runs as a standalone application.
ARDUINO - An open source, prototyping platform for people interested in electronics and DIY projects.
VARIABLE - A known or unknown quantity of information, usually stored under a variable name.
FUNCTION - A set of instructions that are applied to given inputs in a computer program. Can be user defined functions or built in functions.
OPERATORS - A type of function; usually referring to arithmetic and logical ways of manipulating data.
DATATYPES - A set of values in computer programming with pre-defined characteristics. Each programming language can support a variety of datatypes. The user decides which datatype is most appropriate for the data they wish to store.
DEBUGGING or DEBUG- The act of correcting errors in computer programming code.
SKETCH - The name of an Arduino Program, must contain void setup and void loop structures to be recognized by the IDE.
POLARISED - A physical property of electrical components that only allows electrical current to flow in one direction.
LED - Light Emitting Diode
I/O - Input/Output
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory, faster and more expensive than normal DRAM. Used for caches in CPUs as the read/write speed is much higher.
EEPROM - This is a type of storage that is utilized by our Arduino boards to maintain memory in storage when power is turned off.
FLASH MEMORY - Another type of non-volatile memory on Arduino boards. This is used to store the sketch data for our purposes.
MIPS - Millions of Instructions Per Second. This is a measurement used for CPUs and microcontrollers.
CLOCK - This is how many cycles per second a CPU can do measure in Hertz (Hz). Usually, a good way to compare CPUs from the same family of CPU.
BREADBOARD - A prototyping tool for Electronics. It has metal clips in horizontal lines that components and jumper cables can be plugged in and out of easily. You can build a whole circuit on a breadboard and it makes fault finding hardware problems relatively easy.
FORM FACTOR - The way we measure physical dimensions of major computer hardware.
AC/DC - Alternating Current / Direct Current. AC will oscillate from negative to positive whereas digital is either positive On or off.
SHIELD - These are purpose built boards that can be plugged into the Arduino I/O pins. All different types of Shields are manufactured to add a functionality to Arduino that the original board lacked.
PIN VOLTAGE - The voltage a pin is able to output.
OPERATING VOLTAGE - The voltage requirement of a component
RESISTOR - A non-polarised component that resists the flow of current in a circuit.
FRITZING - An open-source computer program used to make schematics and circuit diagrams easily
GND - Ground, the reference point for electrical circuits. This is our zero measurement when we are looking at Voltages around a circuit.
Void setup() - A function inbuilt into Arduino sketches that runs once only when a board is powered up for the first time, or the board is reset.
Void loop() - Another inbuilt function in Arduino sketches. This however will loop consecutively whilst power is connected to the board.
pinMode() - this is a digital function in the Arduino coding language. It configures a specified pin to behave a certain way. We pass our pin number and behaviour to the board using pinMode(2, HIGH) for example.
digitalWrite() - this is a digital function in the Arduino Coding language. This will allow us to tell a certain pin to output a high or low signal.
digitalRead() - this is a digital function in the Arduino Coding Language. This allows us to read what signal a component is putting out.
For those of you new to Arduino, it might help to understand a few terms that are frequently used by people talking about Arduino but are very non-standard.
Sketch
This is the term used for a program.
Shield
This is a circuit board that can be plugged on top of an Arduino. Shields have a variety of applications. For example, our Vernier Interface Arduino Shield allows you to easily connect our sensors to an Arduino.
Processing Code
This is the programming environment used most often with Arduino. It can be downloaded (free) from arduino.cc. It is a somewhat simplified version of the C programming language.
IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
This is the software application that is run to provide the tools to allow you to develop software for the Arduino. It includes the source code editor, build automation, and debugger.
Pulse-Width Modulation
One of the nice things about Arduino boards is that, even though they do not have true analog output lines, they can approximate an analog output voltage that you can control. This is done using pulse-width modulation (PWM), where the voltage at a digital line is changed from low to high at a high frequency, and the fraction of the time it is on (called the duty cycle) is varied.
IDE - Integrated Development Environment, A GUI including a code editor, a compiler, and a debugger. Runs as a standalone application.
ARDUINO - An open source, prototyping platform for people interested in electronics and DIY projects.
VARIABLE - A known or unknown quantity of information, usually stored under a variable name.
FUNCTION - A set of instructions that are applied to given inputs in a computer program. Can be user defined functions or built in functions.
OPERATORS - A type of function; usually referring to arithmetic and logical ways of manipulating data.
DATATYPES - A set of values in computer programming with pre-defined characteristics. Each programming language can support a variety of datatypes. The user decides which datatype is most appropriate for the data they wish to store.
DEBUGGING or DEBUG- The act of correcting errors in computer programming code.
SKETCH - The name of an Arduino Program, must contain void setup and void loop structures to be recognized by the IDE.
POLARISED - A physical property of electrical components that only allows electrical current to flow in one direction.
LED - Light Emitting Diode
I/O - Input/Output
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory, faster and more expensive than normal DRAM. Used for caches in CPUs as the read/write speed is much higher.
EEPROM - This is a type of storage that is utilized by our Arduino boards to maintain memory in storage when power is turned off.
FLASH MEMORY - Another type of non-volatile memory on Arduino boards. This is used to store the sketch data for our purposes.
MIPS - Millions of Instructions Per Second. This is a measurement used for CPUs and microcontrollers.
CLOCK - This is how many cycles per second a CPU can do measure in Hertz (Hz). Usually, a good way to compare CPUs from the same family of CPU.
BREADBOARD - A prototyping tool for Electronics. It has metal clips in horizontal lines that components and jumper cables can be plugged in and out of easily. You can build a whole circuit on a breadboard and it makes fault finding hardware problems relatively easy.
FORM FACTOR - The way we measure physical dimensions of major computer hardware.
AC/DC - Alternating Current / Direct Current. AC will oscillate from negative to positive whereas digital is either positive On or off.
SHIELD - These are purpose built boards that can be plugged into the Arduino I/O pins. All different types of Shields are manufactured to add a functionality to Arduino that the original board lacked.
PIN VOLTAGE - The voltage a pin is able to output.
OPERATING VOLTAGE - The voltage requirement of a component
RESISTOR - A non-polarised component that resists the flow of current in a circuit.
FRITZING - An open-source computer program used to make schematics and circuit diagrams easily
GND - Ground, the reference point for electrical circuits. This is our zero measurement when we are looking at Voltages around a circuit.
Void setup() - A function inbuilt into Arduino sketches that runs once only when a board is powered up for the first time, or the board is reset.
Void loop() - Another inbuilt function in Arduino sketches. This however will loop consecutively whilst power is connected to the board.
pinMode() - this is a digital function in the Arduino coding language. It configures a specified pin to behave a certain way. We pass our pin number and behaviour to the board using pinMode(2, HIGH) for example.
digitalWrite() - this is a digital function in the Arduino Coding language. This will allow us to tell a certain pin to output a high or low signal.
digitalRead() - this is a digital function in the Arduino Coding Language. This allows us to read what signal a component is putting out.