A great way for technicians to learn about digital techniques and computers
Work with (gates) the building blocks of computers
Discover logic circuits that can make decisions
See how computers work with ones and zeros
Understand how computers count and keep track of numbers
Build and test memory circuits
Implement hardware using code
Have fun while learning about the Arduino
As computer technology has evolved, there have been two groups of people: the hardware group that understands the machine, and the software group that codes in high-level programming languages. This book puts the two together by providing an understanding of the nuts and bolts of digital devices and implementing hardware operations by coding a microcontroller.
We use the Arduino microcontroller, which is embraced by the world-wide maker community of well over 300,000 people of all ages and technical backgrounds. The projects start at ground level and scaffold upward to fun challenges.
We begin with a background on digital circuitry and cover the operation of the Arduino microcontroller. From there, we examine digital logic gates, which are the building blocks of computer hardware, and see how they make decisions.
Next, we explore how digital devices work with numbers and do arithmetic along with how they count binary numbers. We also see how data moves between points in serial or parallel form as we build and test the circuitry to do the work.
The topic of random number generation is explained, and we design a few simple computer games to see how this all works and have some fun. The book leads up to the reader producing a final capstone project. The format of the book is perfect for a digital electronics high school or college course, but easy enough to follow so that anyone with a basic background in DC circuits will have an enjoyable time with the many projects.
What will you learn
You will learn that there is nothing mysterious about the digital devices that make up a computer, or the code that programs a computer to function. We cover the basic hardware as it is constructed into functional sections of a modern computer. You will learn about gates, flip-flops, registers, counters, and data I/O.
Who this book is for
Anyone with a background in electricity and electronics with the knowledge of constructing circuits on a breadboard should have no problem using this book. It is designed for people with inquisitive minds in the hope that both the hardware projects and code samples are modified by the reader to gain additional information.
Table of Contents
1. A Bit about Arduino.
2. Digital Function Implementation.
3. Designing Functional Computer Circuits.
4. Memory Devices.
5. Registers and Numbers.
7. Multiplexing and demultiplexing.
8. Addresses, specialized counters, and serial monitor interaction.
9. Random Numbers
10. Interactive I/O
11. Capstone project