About this Book
This book is organized into two parts. Part 1 discusses the Arduino in general and includes a tutorial that introduces you to your first project before looking at a couple of simple projects that use the Arduino inputs and outputs. Part 2 looks at the Arduino in more depth, and this is where we really start to put the Arduino to work with a number of advanced techniques that you can use in your own projects.
Code for the sketches covered in each chapter is available online via the book’s website: www.manning.com/ArduinoinAction. We suggest trying to follow along with the projects in the book as much as you can. Typing in the individual code listings will help to fix concepts and ideas into your mind.
This book is suitable for both beginners and intermediate Arduino users. It starts from a very basic level and assumes no prior knowledge, but we think even expert users will gain things from the second part of the book, which covers a wide variety of subjects, many of which can be combined into your own projects. A basic understanding of electronics will help with some project circuits, although we endeavor to explain them as much as we can.
Roadmap
Part 1 of the book discusses the Arduino in general.
Chapter 1 explains how to get started by setting up your development environment and a basic software and hardware toolbox. It shows you how to blink your first LED and walks you through the anatomy of an Arduino sketch.
Chapter 2 takes the form of a tutorial that introduces your first project and covers a number of key concepts.
Chapter 3 builds on the knowledge gained in chapter 2 by looking at a couple of simple projects that use the Arduino inputs and outputs.
Part 2 of the book looks at the Arduino in more depth. This is where we put the Arduino to work.
Chapter 4 covers software libraries that extend the Arduino’s functionality.
Chapter 5 gets the Arduino into motion by showing how an Arduino can be used to control a range of motors.
Object detection is covered in chapter 6 with a section on how ultrasound and ultrasonic sensors can be interfaced.
Chapter 7 is all about outputting data to LCD displays. It covers communication with the Hitachi HD44780 parallel LCD as well as the KS0108 graphic LCD that can also display graphics.
In chapter 8 we cover communication with the external world. We start by using an Ethernet Shield to create a web server and then move on to tweeting messages from an Arduino to Twitter, using a Wi-Fi network and Bluetooth communication, logging data to an SD card and the internet using the Cosm service, and communicating with other devices over the serial peripheral interface (SPI).
Chapter 9 details connecting an Arduino to game controllers, starting with the widely available Wii Nunchuk over I2C. Then we take a detailed look at using a USB shield to interface with a USB Xbox controller.
Chapter 10 covers integration with iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad using the Redpark serial cable.
In chapter 11 we look at two alternative forms of the Arduino that can be used as wearables: the LilyPad that can be sewn into clothing, and the Arduino Mini Pro, which is a special customized version of the Arduino notable for its small size.
Chapter 12 looks at shields, which provide a simple method of extending or enhancing the Arduino hardware. This chapter includes instructions for creating your own shields.
Finally, chapter 13 is on software integration, and it covers communicating with the Arduino from other software programs.
There are also several appendices.
Appendix A is about installing the Arduino software on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems.
Appendix B is a coding primer for the Arduino language.
Appendix C is about Arduino software libraries and their structure.
Appendix D provides a listing of all the components required to complete the individual projects in each chapter.
Appendix E is a list of useful links.
Code conventions and downloads
There are many code examples in this book, edited using the Arduino integrated development environment (IDE). Source code in listings and text is in a fixed-width font like this, to separate it from ordinary text, and code annotations accompany many of the listings.
You’ll find the source code for the examples in this book available from the publisher’s website at www.manning.com/ArduinoinAction.
Author Online
The purchase of Arduino in Action includes free access to a private web forum run by Manning Publications, where you can make comments about the book, ask technical questions, and receive help from the authors and from other users. To access the forum and subscribe to it, point your web browser to www.manning.com/ArduinoinAction. This page provides information on how to get on the forum once you are registered, what kind of help is available, and the rules of conduct on the forum.
Manning’s commitment to our readers is to provide a venue where a meaningful dialogue between individual readers and between readers and the authors can take place. It is not a commitment to any specific amount of participation on the part of the authors, whose contribution to the forum remains voluntary (and unpaid). We suggest you try asking the authors some challenging questions lest their interest stray!
The Author Online forum and the archives of previous discussions will be accessible from the publisher’s website as long as the book is in print.