Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #00699
To: bshannon@tiac.net, jaf60@student.canterbury.ac.nz
From: Steven Bolt sbolt@xs4all.nl
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 21:11:43 +0100 (CET)
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: hmmm...i wonder which subject
On Sat, 20 Feb 1999, Bob Shannon wrote:
> Justin wrote:
> > Adding a CPU is something I'd love to be able to do,
> If you can relabily build a working photovore, your electronics skills
> are good enough for a STAMP. IF your able to build and converge a 2
> motor walker, your probably more than ready to try your hand at building
> a PIC controller from scratch.
>
> When your rady for more advanced capabilities, you can get the $99
> PicBasic complier and re-use your existing STAMP code, while adding
> machine language programming abilities as well.
The newer Atmel AVR architecture offers very low cost, low power
yet fast controllers, and the instruction set is easy to learn. If
you know a little about programming, you'll be writing assembly
language programs with confidence after just a day or two. The
general consensus seems to be that PICs offer a much steeper and
longer learning curve.
Of course that's not important if you stick to basic, but assembly
offers *much* faster performance and a better choice of
controllers. In the long run you'll find it hard to avoid learning
assembly.
But we may be getting a bit outside the topical range of this list :)
Best,
Steve
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# sbolt@xs4all.nl # Steven Bolt # popular science monthly KIJK #
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