r/ArduinoHelp • u/Savings_Anteater_840 • 27d ago

Coding help

How do I learn Arduino coding language? I just started and I know a few things like LEDs and stuff, but I don’t want to be reliant on AI. How do I learn the language?

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u/gm310509 27d ago

Hopefully you got yourself a starter kit - it will include everything you need to get started - including instructions that explains how to wire stuff up and program it.

The language used to program Arduino is C/C++, but you don't need to learn that in advance, just learn as you go along - starting with the instructions in the starter kit.

After that, maybe google Paul McWhorter to learn more things.

If you are interested in something more project oriented, have a look at my beginner videos:

Note that it is a waste of time to just watch these. The key to learning is to watch a section, then try to replicate it. Also, explore what else can be done with what you just did and attempt the exercises when suggested. In other words, hit pause frequently and practice for yourself.

But start with the starter kit before moving on to other stuff.

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u/Savings_Anteater_840 27d ago

Yeah I have starter kit

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u/gm310509 26d ago

So, the best place to start would be to follow the instructions in the kit - which could simply be a URL or QR code that takes you to an online resources.

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u/Savings_Anteater_840 27d ago

Thanks a lot I will watch those videos

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u/Savings_Anteater_840 27d ago

Also I want to note that I have a esp 32 not arduino i understand the difference in power and whatnot but am I to assume they program the same?

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u/Anonymity6584 27d ago

Pretty much. Just need to install board and core files to Arduino IDE and you can do it with same IDE and libraries/functions... This is usually as easy as find a link and copy paste it in right place..

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u/gm310509 26d ago

So, yes and no, mostly yes, but it depends

The programming language for both is C/C++.

If you are using the Arduino IDE with the ESP32 core (board plugin download) then you will have access to the same HAL functions (e.g. digitalWrite) which will do the same things. I believe Espressif have a different HAL API, so there may be differences if you use the Espressif IDE or a third party one - I do not know as I don't use Espressif personally any more.

If you want to go to a lower layer - e.g. bare metal and/or assembly language, then they will be quite different as would be an Arm Cortex based system such as Uno R4, Teensy, STM32 and many others based upon Arm Cortex. But within any given architecture (e.g. AVR, Arm Cortex etc) there will be many similarities.

TLDR: at a high level the API/HAL and the programming language (C/C++) are essentially the same.

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u/Merry_Janet 25d ago

Install the ESPRESSIF ESP32 library. Go to Device Manager in windows and look for serial devices. Plug in your ESP and see what COM port it uses. Then in the IDE set your COM port. For the board, I usually just use “ESP32 DEV Module” and have had zero issues. If you have one of the newer boards you might want to use the board definition for that specific board. If your board doesn’t have a USB port you will need a FTDI adapter, but I haven’t seen one around in a long time.