So, I tend to be a little hot-headed sometimes and feel that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things.
I'll voice my opinion and recommendations and see how they fair.
I see a large number of posts asking about learning microctrollers, and I see a fair many asking to build circuit without an MCU that eventually gets pushed to a microcontroller. (MCU = Microcontroller)
First, I would start of by saying that getting a project done has different requirements than learning about MCUs.
Getting a project completed typically requires very little time, effort, or money investment.
The typical choice for this is Arduino. They don't require special programmers, so the cost of getting one going for your custom project is pretty small. Add to that the very friendly IDE, topics popping up left/right/center for others using Arduino, and the collection of shields, and you have a very easy to use thought to working project.
There are some drawbacks. The use of Arduino and some of the shields may increase the size requirement for the electronics. If you plan to manufacture your product, using Arduino and shields is a very poor costly route to take.
Using an actual microcontroller and not a development board like Arduino will allow you to build smaller, cost effective products. Some manufacturers will actually allow you to purchase new MCUs that are pre-programmed with your code.
Now on the other end of the spectrum, there are people asking for a good option when learning microcontrollers. This is usually where I cringe a little as the recommendations come in to use Arduino because it's easy. Easy is not always the best path to take. Talk a little to the op and figure out what they know, if they have programming or electronics experience. Learning a more basic item will help them to develop peripheral circuits and devices and develop skills in troubleshooting and debugging memory and program problems. If this is a long-term goal to understand and learn how these devices work please keep the pre-assembled bundled products out of the discussion. There is no place for the Lego Mindstorm or Arduino here. I view this as recommending MSWord to someone wanting to learn web programming. Microcontroller programmers should understand how the clock operates, and what 'instructions' are like a 'NOP'. Of course, this desire to learn could merely be to complete a project, in which case the end result is desired more than the learning. Take a look at the first section and pick whatever gets the results.
That said, there are a few devices to choose from to start your learning path. They are not point+click easy, but they get your brain dirty and you benefit from it when you move up the chain and start using IDEs, libraries, and other large packages. AVR and PIC are common and have a large user base, PICaxe, BASICstamp and even ARM are being used.
Which is chosen makes little difference, as the skills gained can be transferred to another. When it comes time to build a project there are arguments over things like AVR or PIC being better. They are somewhat right, but usually in a hobbyist's toolkit it makes no significant difference.
How you use your tools is up to you. To some, what's under the hood is what matters. Choose your own path, and keep an open mind about all of the possibilities.
This may have been a mini-rant. Thank you for sitting through the whole thing
I'll voice my opinion and recommendations and see how they fair.
I see a large number of posts asking about learning microctrollers, and I see a fair many asking to build circuit without an MCU that eventually gets pushed to a microcontroller. (MCU = Microcontroller)
First, I would start of by saying that getting a project done has different requirements than learning about MCUs.
Getting a project completed typically requires very little time, effort, or money investment.
The typical choice for this is Arduino. They don't require special programmers, so the cost of getting one going for your custom project is pretty small. Add to that the very friendly IDE, topics popping up left/right/center for others using Arduino, and the collection of shields, and you have a very easy to use thought to working project.
There are some drawbacks. The use of Arduino and some of the shields may increase the size requirement for the electronics. If you plan to manufacture your product, using Arduino and shields is a very poor costly route to take.
Using an actual microcontroller and not a development board like Arduino will allow you to build smaller, cost effective products. Some manufacturers will actually allow you to purchase new MCUs that are pre-programmed with your code.
Now on the other end of the spectrum, there are people asking for a good option when learning microcontrollers. This is usually where I cringe a little as the recommendations come in to use Arduino because it's easy. Easy is not always the best path to take. Talk a little to the op and figure out what they know, if they have programming or electronics experience. Learning a more basic item will help them to develop peripheral circuits and devices and develop skills in troubleshooting and debugging memory and program problems. If this is a long-term goal to understand and learn how these devices work please keep the pre-assembled bundled products out of the discussion. There is no place for the Lego Mindstorm or Arduino here. I view this as recommending MSWord to someone wanting to learn web programming. Microcontroller programmers should understand how the clock operates, and what 'instructions' are like a 'NOP'. Of course, this desire to learn could merely be to complete a project, in which case the end result is desired more than the learning. Take a look at the first section and pick whatever gets the results.
That said, there are a few devices to choose from to start your learning path. They are not point+click easy, but they get your brain dirty and you benefit from it when you move up the chain and start using IDEs, libraries, and other large packages. AVR and PIC are common and have a large user base, PICaxe, BASICstamp and even ARM are being used.
Which is chosen makes little difference, as the skills gained can be transferred to another. When it comes time to build a project there are arguments over things like AVR or PIC being better. They are somewhat right, but usually in a hobbyist's toolkit it makes no significant difference.
How you use your tools is up to you. To some, what's under the hood is what matters. Choose your own path, and keep an open mind about all of the possibilities.
This may have been a mini-rant. Thank you for sitting through the whole thing
