The topic of electronic design is becoming increasingly popular. We bring to your attention an article that will tell you what programming microcontrollers for beginners is.
What microcontrollers exist?
First of all, it is necessary to outline the situation with microcontrollers. The fact is that they are produced not by one company, but by several at once, therefore, there are quite a lot of different microcontrollers that have different parameters, different features when using and various features. They differ in speed, additional interfaces and the number of conclusions. The most popular in the entire space of the former USSR are representatives of PIC and AVR. Programming the AVR and PIC microcontrollers is not difficult, which ensured their popularity.
How are microcontrollers programmed?
Microcontroller programming is usually carried out using special devices called programmers. Programmers can be either purchased or home-made. But with the firmware of the microcontroller using a makeshift programmer, the chance that it will turn into a "brick" is rather high. There is another option that can be considered on the example of the Arduino board. The board runs on Atmel's MCU, and it programs the AVR microcontrollers. The board already has a pre-flashed bootloader and a USB port that allow you to safely flash the microcontroller you are using, without giving the user access to data that this very MK can disable. Programming microcontrollers for beginners is not as difficult as it might seem, and with a certain dexterity and ingenuity it will save you from having to go for a new mechanism.
Hardware differences between different microcontrollers
When choosing microcontrollers, you should pay attention to some hardware differences, not even of different companies, but in the same model range. First, you should pay attention to the possibility of overwriting information on the microcontroller. This feature allows you to experiment with one MK for a long time. Also pay attention to the number of conclusions with their purpose. Do not neglect the frequency of operation of the crystal on which the circuit operates: the number of operations per second that the microcontroller can perform depends on it. When examining these characteristics, as well as the memory of MK, at first it may seem that you won’t do anything sensible on microcontrollers, but this is an erroneous opinion. Remember that programming microcontrollers for beginners does not require the best technology at the beginning, but you can take something more powerful in reserve.
Microcontroller programming languages
Two microcontroller programming languages are used: C / C ++ and assembler. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. So, if we talk about assembler, it makes it possible to do everything very subtly and efficiently, it is especially important when there is not enough RAM or operational capacity (which, however, happens quite rarely). But studying it and writing programs on it requires quite a lot of effort, punctuality and time. Therefore, for development based on microcontrollers, the programming languages C and C ++ are often used. They are more understandable, in their appearance and structure they are close to human speech, although they do not represent it in a full sense. They also have very well-designed functionality that can easily interact with the hardware, imagining that this is just an element of the program. With all its obvious advantages, C and C ++ create more voluminous programs than assembler.
Also, in some cases, when the operational space used is critical, these languages can be combined. Almost all development environments for C and C ++ have the ability to install assembler inserts into the program. Therefore, in case of a problem at a critical site, you can write an assembler insert and integrate it into the firmware for the microcontroller, and write the firmware itself, more precisely, most of it, in C or C ++. Programming microcontrollers in SI is easier, so many choose these languages. But those who are not afraid of difficulties and want to understand the peculiarity of the equipment can try their hand with assembler.
Parting words
If you want to experiment with microcontrollers, that's fine. One can only be advised to have patience and perseverance, and then any goals set for the inventor will be feasible. Programming microcontrollers for beginners and experienced people looks different: what is difficult for beginners, then for experienced ones it is a routine. The main thing is to remember that everything that does not contradict the laws of physics is feasible and solvable.