Software Problems - Revision history

Ctreber at 12:48, 15 June 2018

2018-06-15T12:48:06Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:48, 15 June 2018
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	C++ and very small memory pose diverse challenges. The Arduino runtime environment has its intricacies as well.		C++ and very small memory pose diverse challenges. The Arduino runtime environment has its intricacies as well.

	And then there is other people's software you may not have access to, such as firmware in components. Yes, ESP8266, I'm looking at you! ~~The EP8266 is great: It gives your IoT device WLAN and IP connectivity for only a few bucks.~~		And then there is other people's software you may not have access to, such as firmware in components. Yes, ESP8266, I'm looking at you!

	On the other hand, the ESP8266 is quite a hand full: It creates power spikes that have negative impact on its own operation and possibly that of your entire circuit, it experiences out-of-the-blue resets that have to be dealt with, and it suffers hang-ups that can only be cured with a hardware reset or uttering "The IT Crowd" mantra ("have you tried turning it off and on again"; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8).

	I have had A LOT of trouble with the ESP8266 before I had a lot of fun. Some problems can be solved with a proper power supply, a bit of hardware, and somewhat sophisticated error handling. Other, more persistent problems can only be addressed with resetting the chip or even cycling its power supply.

	* [[C++ is not Java]] - C++ can be harsh for people used to Java. Especially memory handling holds a number of surprises.		* [[C++ is not Java]] - C++ can be harsh for people used to Java. Especially memory handling holds a number of surprises.

Ctreber at 12:47, 15 June 2018

2018-06-15T12:47:54Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:47, 15 June 2018
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	=Embedded Software Problems=		=Embedded Software Problems=

	C++ and very small memory pose diverse challenges. The Arduino runtime environment has its intricacies as well.		C++ and very small memory pose diverse challenges. The Arduino runtime environment has its intricacies as well.

			And then there is other people's software you may not have access to, such as firmware in components. Yes, ESP8266, I'm looking at you! The EP8266 is great: It gives your IoT device WLAN and IP connectivity for only a few bucks.

			On the other hand, the ESP8266 is quite a hand full: It creates power spikes that have negative impact on its own operation and possibly that of your entire circuit, it experiences out-of-the-blue resets that have to be dealt with, and it suffers hang-ups that can only be cured with a hardware reset or uttering "The IT Crowd" mantra ("have you tried turning it off and on again"; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8).

			I have had A LOT of trouble with the ESP8266 before I had a lot of fun. Some problems can be solved with a proper power supply, a bit of hardware, and somewhat sophisticated error handling. Other, more persistent problems can only be addressed with resetting the chip or even cycling its power supply.

	* [[C++ is not Java]] - C++ can be harsh for people used to Java. Especially memory handling holds a number of surprises.		* [[C++ is not Java]] - C++ can be harsh for people used to Java. Especially memory handling holds a number of surprises.
	* [[Memory Usage]] - The Arduino is small and powerful - and it all needs to fit in 32kB of flash and 2kB of RAM.		* [[Memory Usage]] - The Arduino is small and powerful - and it all needs to fit in 32kB of flash and 2kB of RAM.
	* [[SoftwareSerial]] - Sounds great, causes frustration. Emulation thing that need to happen fast has limits.		* [[SoftwareSerial]] - Sounds great, causes frustration. Emulation thing that need to happen fast has limits.
			* [[Flaky ESP8266 Behavior]] - It's not always you, sometime the ESP8266 has it's own mind

	[[IoT with AME\|Home]]		[[IoT with AME\|Home]]
	__NOTOC__		__NOTOC__

Ctreber: /* Software Problems */

2018-06-15T12:43:13Z

Software Problems

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:43, 15 June 2018
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	[[IoT with AME\|Home]]		[[IoT with AME\|Home]]

	=Software Problems=		=Embedded Software Problems=

	C++ and very small memory pose diverse challenges. The Arduino runtime environment has its intricacies as well.		C++ and very small memory pose diverse challenges. The Arduino runtime environment has its intricacies as well.

Ctreber at 12:42, 15 June 2018

2018-06-15T12:42:00Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:42, 15 June 2018
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	=Software Problems=		=Software Problems=

			C++ and very small memory pose diverse challenges. The Arduino runtime environment has its intricacies as well.

	* [[C++ is not Java]] - C++ can be harsh for people used to Java. Especially memory handling holds a number of surprises.		* [[C++ is not Java]] - C++ can be harsh for people used to Java. Especially memory handling holds a number of surprises.

Ctreber at 23:15, 14 June 2018

2018-06-14T23:15:51Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:15, 14 June 2018
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	* [[C++ is not Java]] - C++ can be harsh for people used to Java. Especially memory handling holds a number of surprises.		* [[C++ is not Java]] - C++ can be harsh for people used to Java. Especially memory handling holds a number of surprises.
			* [[Memory Usage]] - The Arduino is small and powerful - and it all needs to fit in 32kB of flash and 2kB of RAM.
	~~==SoftwareSerial==~~		* [[SoftwareSerial]] - Sounds great, causes frustration. Emulation thing that need to happen fast has limits.

	~~SoftwareSerial sounds like a great way to free up your HardwareSerial connection to the computer, in example for debugging purposes. But it~~ is ~~a source of grief using it to communicated with the ESP8266. You'll be limited to low speed,~~ and ~~chances are you will loose characters anyways.~~

	~~My recommendation: Don't do it, it is an avoidable source of self~~-~~created troubles. Programming with an ISP is not a big deal,~~ and ~~so is logging with I2C. Check out [[AC.programmer]]!~~

	~~==Memory Usage==~~

	~~Talking~~ to ~~the ESP8266, dealing with its quirks, and putting a MQTT client on top easily consumes half of the~~ 32kB of ~~program memory~~ and ~~half~~ of ~~the 2kB data memory normal Arduinos have to offer~~.

	~~I first tried to let the air out of the PubSubClient and ESP8266Client libraries, succeeded to a degree, and then decided to write my own MQTT~~- ~~and ESP8266 libs~~, ~~designed~~ to ~~rely on streaming as much as possible and to reduce the use of buffers to a few and small occasions, and make use of more compact and readable code~~.

	[[IoT with AME\|Home]]		[[IoT with AME\|Home]]
	__NOTOC__		__NOTOC__

Ctreber at 23:10, 14 June 2018

2018-06-14T23:10:43Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:10, 14 June 2018
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	=Software Problems=		=Software Problems=

			* [[C++ is not Java]] - C++ can be harsh for people used to Java. Especially memory handling holds a number of surprises.

	==SoftwareSerial==		==SoftwareSerial==

Ctreber at 23:05, 14 June 2018

2018-06-14T23:05:31Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:05, 14 June 2018
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	[[~~Stacks~~]]		[[IoT with AME\|Home]]

	=Software Problems=		=Software Problems=
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	I first tried to let the air out of the PubSubClient and ESP8266Client libraries, succeeded to a degree, and then decided to write my own MQTT- and ESP8266 libs, designed to rely on streaming as much as possible and to reduce the use of buffers to a few and small occasions, and make use of more compact and readable code.		I first tried to let the air out of the PubSubClient and ESP8266Client libraries, succeeded to a degree, and then decided to write my own MQTT- and ESP8266 libs, designed to rely on streaming as much as possible and to reduce the use of buffers to a few and small occasions, and make use of more compact and readable code.

	[[~~Stacks~~]]		[[IoT with AME\|Home]]
			__NOTOC__

Ctreber: Created page with "Stacks =Software Problems= ==SoftwareSerial== SoftwareSerial sounds like a great way to free up your HardwareSerial connection to the computer, in example for debugging..."

2017-07-03T21:47:38Z

Created page with "Stacks =Software Problems= ==SoftwareSerial== SoftwareSerial sounds like a great way to free up your HardwareSerial connection to the computer, in example for debugging..."

New page

[[Stacks]]

=Software Problems=

==SoftwareSerial==

SoftwareSerial sounds like a great way to free up your HardwareSerial connection to the computer, in example for debugging purposes. But it is a source of grief using it to communicated with the ESP8266. You'll be limited to low speed, and chances are you will loose characters anyways.

My recommendation: Don't do it, it is an avoidable source of self-created troubles. Programming with an ISP is not a big deal, and so is logging with I2C. Check out [[AC.programmer]]!

==Memory Usage==

Talking to the ESP8266, dealing with its quirks, and putting a MQTT client on top easily consumes half of the 32kB of program memory and half of the 2kB data memory normal Arduinos have to offer.

I first tried to let the air out of the PubSubClient and ESP8266Client libraries, succeeded to a degree, and then decided to write my own MQTT- and ESP8266 libs, designed to rely on streaming as much as possible and to reduce the use of buffers to a few and small occasions, and make use of more compact and readable code.

[[Stacks]]