Arduino

arduino
programming
notebook

brian w. evans

Arduino Programming Notebook
Written and compiled by Brian W. Evans

With information or inspiration taken from:
http://www.arduino.cc
http://www.wiring.org.co
http://www.arduino.cc/en/Booklet/HomePage
http://cslibrary.stanford.edu/101/

Including material written by:
Paul Badger
Massimo Banzi
Hernando Barragán
David CuartiellesTom Igoe
Daniel Jolliffe
Todd Kurt
David Mellis
and others

Published:
First Edition August 2007
Second Edition September 2008

12c bao
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 License.
To view a copy of this license, visit:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/
Or send a letter to:
Creative Commons
171 Second Street, Suite 300
SanFrancisco, California, 94105, USA

contents

structure
structure

7

setup()

7

loop()

7

functions

8

{} curly braces

8

; semicolon

9

/*… */ block comments

9

// line comments

9

variables
variables

10

variable declaration

10

variable scope

11

datatypes
byte

12

int

12

long

12

float

12

arrays

13

arithmeticarithmetic

14

compound assignments

14

comparison operators

15

logical operators

15

constants
constants

16

true/false

16

high/low

16

input/output

16

flow control
if

17

if… else

18

for

19

while

20

do… while

20

digital i/o
pinMode(pin, mode)

21

digitalRead(pin)

22

digitalWrite(pin, value)

22

analogi/o
analogRead(pin)

23

analogWrite(pin, value)

23

time
delay(ms)

24

millis()

24

math
min(x, y)

24

max(x, y)

24

random
randomSeed(seed)

25

random(min, max)

25

serial
Serial.begin(rate)

26

Serial.println(data)

26

appendix
digital output

29

digital input

30

high current output

31

pwm output

32

potentiometer input33

variable resistor input

34

servo output

35

preface

This notebook serves as a convenient, easy to use programming reference for the
command structure and basic syntax of the Arduino microcontroller. To keep it
simple, certain exclusions were made that make this a beginner’s reference best
used as a secondary source alongside other websites, books, workshops, or classes.This decision has lead to a slight emphasis on using the Arduino for standalone
purposes and, for example, excludes the more complex uses of arrays or advanced
forms of serial communication.
Beginning with the basic structure of Arduino's C derived programming language, this
notebook continues on to describe the syntax of the most common elements of the
language and illustrates their usagewith examples and code fragments. This includes
many functions of the core library followed by an appendix with sample schematics
and starter programs. The overall format compliments O’Sullivan and Igoe’s Physical
Computing where possible.
For an introduction to the Arduino and interactive design, refer to Banzi’s Getting
Started with Arduino, aka the Arduino Booklet. For the brave fewinterested in the
intricacies of programming in C, Kernighan and Ritchie’s The C Programming
Language, second edition, as well as Prinz and Crawford’s C in a Nutshell, provide
some insight into the original programming syntax.
Above all else, this notebook would not have been possible without the great
community of makers and shear mass of original material to be found at the Arduino
website,playground, and forum at http://www.arduino.cc.

structure
The basic structure of the Arduino programming language is fairly simple and runs in
at least two parts. These two required parts, or functions, enclose blocks of
statements.
void setup()
{
statements;
}
void loop()
{
statements;
}
Where setup() is the preparation, loop() is the execution. Both functions are required
for the...