Programming Arduino: Getting Started with Sketches

This is a short introduction to the lectures in this section.

In this lecture, you will learn how to install the Arduino IDE onto your computer.

Learn how to upload your first program to your Arduino

This is a guided tour of the various connectors and key components to be found on an Arduino Uno.

This lecture introduces this section on C Language basics, where you will write your first code for the Arduino.

This lecture explains exactly what a program is and how it makes its way onto your Arduino.

In this lecture, we will revisit the Blink sketch and look at how it works in a bit more detail.

Variables are an important part of programming. In this lecture you will learn how to define and use variables as well as understanding the related concept of constants.

The Serial Monitor is a great way of seeing what's going on in your sketch. Here, we explore the use of the Serial Monitor to send messages from an Arduino to a computer over USB.

In this lecture you will learn C's various commands like the if, while and for commands that help make your sketches smarter.

C programs are structured into blocks of code called Functions. This lecture looks  both built-in functions and functions that you write to add structure to your code.

Following on from the first lecture on functions, this lecture looks a bit more deeply into the anatomy of a function.

Not all variables are the same, so in this lecture, you will learn about global and local variables and the various problems that can arise when using them.

In this lecture we will learn about some new variable types.

Writing code that works is one thing. Writing code that you can follow a few months later or pass on to someone else is quite another. This lecture gives you some guidance as to how to write good code.

This section looks at how C deals with lists of values and text. After a few simple examples, the time has come to take off the training wheels and tackle a real programming project in the form of a Morse Code translator that converts text that you type into the Serial Monitor into flashes or Morse code from an LED.

C arrays allow you to make use of lists of values. This lecture explains this and illustrates it with a simple example using an array of int values.

So far in this course, we have mostly been using numbers. In this lecture you will learn how Arduino's can also do things with text. This can be used for the Arduino to send text messages to your computer over USB or for situations you might meet in the future where some kind of text display is attached to an Arduino.

This step-by-step example leads you through the process of coding a Morse Code translator. A few new C features are introduced along the way, but more importantly, the process of thinking-up a sketch is explained.

This section introduces the section and explains what you will need in the way of hardware.

This lecture expands on what you have already experienced with digital outputs, and with the aid of a multimeter you will learn a bit more about what's going on and also learn how to write programs that allow you to turn pins on and off on your Arduino using the Serial Monitor on your computer.

In this lecture, you will learn how to use a digital input and piece of wire as a switch and also how to attach a real switch to an Arduino and respond, in your code, to the switch being pushed.

Where as digital outputs are simple on off things, analog outputs allow you to deliver a variable output. In this lecture you will learn how to use analog outputs from your code and even dial-up a particular output pin voltage from your computer using the Serial Monitor.

In this lecture, you will explore using analog inputs to measure the voltage at a pin.

This lecture introduces the section on the Arduino and C libraries.

In this lecture you will experiment with the Arduino's ability to make random numbers and along the way make a simple dice project using the Arduino's built-in LED.

This lecture explores some of the functions available to you for taking arithmetic beyond adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying.

This lecture will teach you about bits and bytes and how to use binary and hex in your code.

This lecture gives you some pointers for continuing your Arduino adventure.