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AlternativeArduinoInterfaceslearn.sparkfun.com
AlternativeArduinoInterfaces
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ArduBlock
ArduBlockisaprogrammingenvironmentdesignedtomakephysicalcomputingwithArduinoaseasyasdraganddrop.Insteadofwritingcode,worryingabout
syntax,and(mis)placingsemicolons,ArduBlockallowsyoutovisuallyprogramwithansnappedtogetherlistofcodeblocks.
ArduBlockbuildsonthesimplicityofArduino,andcreatesaperfectbeginnergatewaytophysicalcomputing.Insteadoftearingyourhairoutdebugging,youcan
spendyourtimecreating!
InstallingArduBlock
ArduBlockissomethingofanaddontoArduino,soitrequiresthatyouhavetheArduinoIDEinstalled.Thebenefitofthat,though,isbecauseArduinoismulti
platformArduBlockworksonWindows,Mac,orLinux.Plus,havingArduinoalreadypresentmakesthetransitionfromvisualprogrammingtotextprogramming
easier,whentheinevitabilityapproaches.
InstallingArduBlockcanbealittletrickytheresnoinstaller,justaJavafilethatneedstobestoredinaveryspecificlocation.Followthestepsbelowtoinstallit:
1.DownloadandInstallArduino(ifyouhaventalready)ArdublockisanextensionofthedefaultArduinoIDE,soyoullneedtohaveArduinoinstalledonyour
computertorunit.CheckoutourInstallingArduinoIDEtutorialforhelpwiththat.
2.DownloadArduBlockClickthelinktotheleft,orheadovertotheArduBlockSourceforgepagetofindthelatestandgreatestversion.
3.IdentifyyourArduinoSketchbooklocationThisisafolderonyourcomputerwhereyoursketchesandlibrariesaresavedbydefault.Tofindyour
sketchbooklocation,runArduino,andopenPreferencesbygoingtoFile>Preferences.Thecontentsofthetoptextboxdefinesyoursketchbooklocation.
MemorizethatlocationandcloseArduino.
4.Create[sketchbook]/tools/ArduBlockTool/tool/TheArdublockfileyoudownloadedearlierneedstoliveinaveryspecificlocationwithinyourArduino
sketchbook.Navigatetoyoursketchbook,thencreateanestofthreedirectories:tools>ArduBlockTool>tool(watchout,eachfolderiscasesensitive).
5.Pasteardublockxxxxxxxx.jarInto/tool/PastetheArdublockfileyoudownloadedaJAR(JavaARchive)fileintothelastfolderinthenestyou
created.
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6.StartArduinoOrrestartitifitwasopen.
7.SelecttheBoardandSerialPortJustasyouwouldifyouwereusingArduino,makeyourboardandserialportselectionsfromtheToolsmenu.
8.OpenArduBlockRunArduBlockbyclickingTools>ArduBlock.IfyoudontseeanentryforArduBlockhere,doublechecktomakesureyourdirectories
areallcorrectlytypedandcased.
ArduBlockworkshandinhandwiththeArduinoIDEitreliesontheIDEbeingopeninthebackground,sodontclosetheArduinowindow!
UsingArduBlock
TheArduBlockwindowissplitintotwohalves.Onthelefttherearebins,whichstoreeverypossibleblockyoucanaddtoyoursketch.Theblank,grayslatetothe
rightofthatiswhereyoudrawyoursketch.Toaddablocktoyoursketch,simplydragitfromthebinintotheblank,grayarea.
Tobegin,everyArduBlocksketchrequiresaProgramblock,whichyoucanfindintheControlbin.TheProgramblockdefinesthe setup and loop functionsthat
everyArduinoprogramrequires.
Fromthere,youcandragmoreBlocksover,snappingthemintoeitherthe loop or setup sections.Here,trymakingablinkprogram.Thesetdigitalpinblocks,
whicheffectadigitaloutput(analogoustoArduinos digitalWrite function),arefoundunderthePinsbin.Thedelaymillisecondsblock,foundunderControl,is
analogoustoa delay Arduinofunction.
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ThenclickUploadtoArduinotosendyourdrawingofftoyourArduinoboard.YoucanALT+TABbackovertotheArduinowindowtocheckyourcodeuploadstatus.
Afteryouvesuccessfullyuploadedyourfirstsketch,continuetoplayaroundandexplorethecontentsoftheotherbins!
ArduBlockTips&Tricks
Youcancloneblocks,orgroupsofblocks,byrightclickingandselectingClone.Everythingfromtheblockyourightclickedtothebottomofthatgroupwillbe
copiedandpastedintothetopleftcornerofthewindow.Thisisahugetimesaverforbiggerdrawings.
YoucantemporarilyremovecodefromyoursketchbydraggingitoutoftheentiretyoftheProgramblock.AnythingnotconnectedtothemainProgramblockwill
beignoredwhenyourcodeiscompiled.Thisisagreatdebuggingtoolyoucanremoveablockofcodefromprogramexecution,whilenotactuallydeletingit,much
likecommentingoutcode.
Finally,ifyoupeekbackoverattheArduinowindow,afteryouveuploadedanArduBlockdrawing,youmaynoticesomethingdifferent.Tocreateyourcode,the
ArduBlockprogramsimplyparsesyourblocksandspitstheequivalentArduinocodeoverintotheArduinowindow.
Thisbecomesagreatlearningtoolifyoureinterestedintransitioningfromgraphicalprogrammingtotext.
ArduBlockResources
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ArduBlockHomepage
ArduBlockGitHubRepository(OpenSource!)
SparkFunDigitalSandBoxExperimentGuideAseriesofArduinoexperimentsallbasedaroundArduBlock.
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