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Arduino - Progmem

The document discusses storing data in program memory (PROGMEM) instead of SRAM on Arduino boards. It explains that PROGMEM stores data in flash memory and requires including the pgmspace library. It provides the syntax and an example of storing integer and character data in PROGMEM and retrieving it using functions like pgm_read_word_near. It also shows how to store arrays of strings in PROGMEM.

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dattarider
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201 views

Arduino - Progmem

The document discusses storing data in program memory (PROGMEM) instead of SRAM on Arduino boards. It explains that PROGMEM stores data in flash memory and requires including the pgmspace library. It provides the syntax and an example of storing integer and character data in PROGMEM and retrieving it using functions like pgm_read_word_near. It also shows how to store arrays of strings in PROGMEM.

Uploaded by

dattarider
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Reference Language | Libraries | Comparison | Changes

PROGMEM
Store data in flash (program) memory instead of SRAM. There's a description of the various types of memory available on
an Arduino board.
The PROGMEM keyword is a variable modifier, it should be used only with the datatypes defined in pgmspace.h. It tells
the compiler "put this information into flash memory", instead of into SRAM, where it would normally go.
PROGMEM is part of the pgmspace.h library. So you first need to include the library at the top your sketch, like this:
#include <avr/pgmspace.h>

S y ntax
dataType variableName[] PROGMEM = {dataInt0, dataInt1, dataInt3...};

program memory dataType - any program memory variable type (see below)
variableName - the name for your array of data
Note that because PROGMEM is a variable modifier, there is no hard and fast rule about where it should go, so the
Arduino compiler accepts all of the definitions below, which are also synonymous. However experiments have indicated
that, in various versions of Arduino (having to do with GCC version), PROGMEM may work in one location and not in
another. T he "string table" example below has been tested to work with Arduino 13. Earlier versions of the IDE may work
better if PROGMEM is included after the variable name.
dataType variableName[] PROGMEM = {};

// use this form

dataType PROGMEM variableName[] = {};

// not this one

PROGMEM

dataType

variableName[] = {}; // use this form

While PROGMEM could be used on a single variable, it is really only worth the fuss if you have a larger block of data that
needs to be stored, which is usually easiest in an array, (or another C data structure beyond our present discussion).
Using PROGMEM is also a two-step procedure. After getting the data into Flash memory, it requires special methods
(functions), also defined in the pgmspace.h library, to read the data from program memory back into SRAM, so we can do
something useful with it.
As mentioned above, it is important to use the datatypes outlined in pgmspace.h. Some cryptic bugs are generated by
using ordinary datatypes for program memory calls. Below is a list of variable types to use. Floating point numbers in
program memory do not appear to be supported.
prog_char

- a signed char (1 byte) -127 to 128

prog_uchar

- an unsigned char (1 byte) 0 to 255

prog_int16_t

- a signed int (2 bytes) -32,767 to 32,768

prog_uint16_t

- an unsigned int (2 bytes) 0 to 65,535

prog_int32_t

- a signed long (4 bytes) -2,147,483,648 to * 2,147,483,647.

prog_uint32_t

- an unsigned long (4 bytes) 0 to 4,294,967,295

Example
The following code fragments illustrate how to read and write unsigned chars (bytes) and ints (2 bytes) to PROGMEM.
#include <avr/pgmspace.h>

// save some unsigned ints


PROGMEM

prog_uint16_t charSet[]

= { 65000, 32796, 16843, 10, 11234};

// save some chars


prog_uchar signMessage[] PROGMEM

= {"I AM PREDATOR,

UNSEEN COMBATANT. CREATED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPART"};

unsigned int displayInt;


int k;

// counter variable

char myChar;
// read back a 2-byte int
displayInt = pgm_read_word_near(charSet + k)
// read back a char
myChar =

pgm_read_byte_near(signMessage + k);

Arrays of strings
It is often convenient when working with large amounts of text, such as a project with an LCD display, to setup an array of
strings. Because strings themselves are arrays, this is in actually an example of a two-dimensional array.
These tend to be large structures so putting them into program memory is often desirable. The code below illustrates the
idea.

/*

PROGMEM string demo


How to store a table of strings in program memory (flash),
and retrieve them.
Information summarized from:
http://www.nongnu.org/avr-libc/user-manual/pgmspace.html
Setting up a table (array) of strings in program memory is slightly complicated, but
here is a good template to follow.
Setting up the strings is a two-step process. First define the strings.
*/
#include <avr/pgmspace.h>
prog_char string_0[] PROGMEM = "String 0";

// "String 0" etc are strings to store - change to suit.

prog_char string_1[] PROGMEM = "String 1";


prog_char string_2[] PROGMEM = "String 2";
prog_char string_3[] PROGMEM = "String 3";
prog_char string_4[] PROGMEM = "String 4";
prog_char string_5[] PROGMEM = "String 5";

// Then set up a table to refer to your strings.


PROGMEM const char *string_table[] =

// change "string_table" name to suit

{
string_0,
string_1,
string_2,
string_3,
string_4,
string_5 };
char buffer[30];

// make sure this is large enough for the largest string it must hold

void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop()
{
/* Using the string table in program memory requires the use of special functions to retrieve the data.
The strcpy_P function copies a string from program space to a string in RAM ("buffer").
Make sure your receiving string in RAM

is large enough to hold whatever

you are retrieving from program space. */

for (int i = 0; i < 6; i++)


{
strcpy_P(buffer, (char*)pgm_read_word(&(string_table[i]))); // Necessary casts and dereferencing, just copy.
Serial.println( buffer );
delay( 500 );
}

S ee also
Types of memory available on an Arduino board
array
string
Reference Home
Corrections, suggestions, and new documentation should be posted to the Forum.
The text of the Arduino reference is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. Code
samples in the reference are released into the public domain.
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