Thursday: Arduin-oh my!

Alright, corny titles aside, today I kind of watched the world of arduino blow up in my face! Not literally, of course. Today I was exposed to the immense possibilities for integration and creativity that the arduino platform has brought to the world of electronics hobbyists and coders.

The most beautiful aspect of it all in my opinion, is the arduino's programming language. See, i'm currently learning java online via the awesomeness that is CodeAcademy. Seriously, anyone who wants to get into computer programming of virtually any type should check it out, it's really fun! Anyway, back to the arduino praise. The thing I like the most about the arduino's coding language is that it seems to make a lot of sense! This was a real shocker for me since I used to have this vision in my head that writing computer code was something reserved for only the best and sharpest minds. Really, the language kind of works in a way that is easy for me to grasp.

For example: The Makey MaKey, as with every arduino board in existence, has analog input/output pins. So, let's say I wanted to switch input 8 from input mode to output mode. It is really easy, all it takes is a few lines of code.

It couldn't be simpler unless the arduino compiler had the capability to read my mind and type the code itself! Seriously, to change the mode of a pin you type "pinMode" it's a breeze. I think that I like this language so much since it is very similar in syntax to java. Like java, there are global and local variables, and certain protocols that have to exist in every program otherwise the compiler will send an error message. Some syntax elements are exactly the same, such as the semicolon necessary at the end of a line of code. The semicolon effectively "ends" the particular line of code that precedes it. So with that in mind, I definitely feel a lot more comfortable with the MaKeyMaKeyChordBoard project as far as the actual coding is concerned.

Tomorrow is Friday, WOOP! I'll be heading back into Lowell to work with Graham to begin the actual program which will allow the buttons on the Chord Board to trigger single notes, intervals, chords and inversions! Good times, and a good opportunity to get back up to speed with the process of programming in Scratch. Since the new iteration of Scratch is run completely online, I will be uploading all the recorded instrumental samples into the "Backpack" at the bottom of Scratch's window. Essentially the Backpack is just a place to throw anything into that you would like to store within the program. One massive plus to the Backpack system is that the stuff inside is transferrable and accessible between projects. This is really great since in theory, we could make a Scratch "Studio" that contains the audio files and preliminary programs and then give anyone access to the Studio and thus giving them the freedom to make their own code while using our recorded audio samples!

Good stuff! Until Tomorrow, goodnight!