Arduino

Arduino is a single-board computer and an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for anyone making interactive projects.

Arduino is a name given to a family of single-board computers (SBCs).The particular family member used in lessons in this book is the Arduino Uno. All Arduino's contain an integrated circuit called a microcontroller. A microcontroller is a small but complete microprocessor capable of input, output, and computation. In addition, a microcontroller includes storage memory for a computer program and its data.

Single-Board Computer (SBC): Entire microcomputer on a single printed circuit board. A Examples are the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi.

Micro-Processor and Micro-controllers

Micro-Processor:

A microprocessor is an electronic component that is used by a computer to do its work. It is a central processing unit on a single integrated circuit chip containing millions of very small components including resistors, diodes and transistors, that work together. Some microprocessors in the 20th century required several chips. Microprocessors help to do everything from controlling elevators to searching the Web. Everything a computer does is described by instructions of computer programs, and microprocessors carry out these instructions many millions of times a second.

Micro-Controller:

A microcontroller (abbreviated MCU or μC) is a computer system on a chip that does a job. It contains an integrated processor, memory (a small amount of RAM, program memory, or both), and programmable input/output peripherals, which are used to interact with things connected to the chip. A microcontroller is different than a microprocessor, which only contains a CPU (the kind used in a Personal Computer).

Learning Arduino Programming is valuable for three reasons:

1. Industry demands and career opportunity: The key component of the Arduino is a microcontroller from the Atmel Corporation. Learning to program and apply an Arduino is also learning to program and apply a microcontroller, a skill that is in heavy demand in industry.

2. As a basis for learning other programming languages:he Arduino is programmed in a version of the C programming language. Consequently, knowledge of the syntax of Arduino C transfers to learning higher-level languages, including C++, C#, Java, and Python, which are all currently used in industry.

3. Satisfaction and fun: The Arduino can be used as the computing component for many different kinds of devices. Students who have completed the lessons in this book have gone on to design, build, and program robots that walk, sensors that record and report data, musical instruments, and quad copters that fly, among other things.