Im a amatuer programmer

JosephMichael

I need to know how to program the propeller chip·to perform the following functions:
Speed controller
Relays Switches
And autonomous modes

How do i program it cause i dont really know how to "write" the program. I'm used to drag and drop "flow chart" programming.

Mike Green

You're going to need to spend some time learning.· For some specific devices, there are "canned" objects that will do most of the work.· There are also some excellent tutorials that are part of the Propeller Education Kit.· You'll need to go through them.· There's nothing like "drag and drop" flowchart-like programming.

jazzed

Hi JosephMichael.
Can you post a pointer to a web page or doc that describes your "drag & drop" programming?
It sounds fascinating. My imagination may see something entirely different. Perhaps you
can take your experience and use it as a framework for programs you would like to write?
It seems as though the world is made of blocks anyway ... some more opaque than others.

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jazzed·... about·living in·http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Valley

Traffic is slow at times, but Parallax orders·always get here fast 8)

Paul Baker

The scribbler has a flow chart style of programming (and can be used on any stamp), I don't know if that is where his experience is from.

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Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer

Parallax, Inc.

Timothy D. Swieter

Doesn't Lego Mindstorm also have flow chart programming?

Welcome to the forum JosephMichael. Along with Mike, I also recommend going through the tutorial/educational labs. Those labs will help to teach you about the Propeller and a little about programming on the Propeller. I am guessing you are familiar with robotics and some electronics and mechanics. What products have you used?

Speed control and relay switches can be easy things to do. It depends on exactly what you want to do. You mentioned autonomous behaviour and that is a wide open definitions. Can you be more specific in what you are trying to accomplish?

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Timothy D. Swieter

www.brilldea.com·- check out the uOLED-IOC, an I/O expansion for the uOLED-96-PROP
www.tdswieter.com

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One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode

JosephMichael

Well the operator interface and robot controller i use is provided by "INNOVATION FIRST". I do have experiance in robotics but i just learned this year how to program in c language but·its still a little rough. The flow chart drag and drop program that i use is found here http://intelitek-shop.com/. The functions i really want·to learn is how to program the chip to use speed controllers and relays. When i drag a OI to pwn function(which controlls the motors from a joystick) it will ask me 0 to 255, 255 meaning the max speed that the motor will go, but i want to know how to use that sort of function on the chip. Also with the relays it will ask me what relay port and·direction of the relay. I don't know how to use propeller so i would need to learn how to use that reference in propeller. Im assuming that the propeller would read the directions in a binary code such as 1 for forward and -1 as reverse. Am i right?

groggory

I think you're used to a programming environment that is designed for your hardware. The propeller does not follow a prebuilt environment, but rather can be used for anything. Thus, if you want to do something you have to tell the chip exactly how to do it.

For instance, in a relay you can 'flip' it by charging the coil. If you set a pin to high and put it through the coil, the relay will flip.

If you have a relay that has two settings, you could flip it one way by setting one pin high and causing current to flow one way. Or flip it the other way by having another pin set it high on the other side.

Of course to do this you would need a clever network of diodes to control current flow and would need to set everything up so it would work.

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The propeller is only what you make of it. I'm with everyone else. Go get a propeller education kit, work through all of the included labs, come to the forum if you have questions as you go along, then work on your project.

You need to learn what the propeller can do before you can decide the best way to do something.

Cheers!

-Greg

JosephMichael

do i have to pay for the education kit? cause i seriously don't feel like buying anything eles.

Timothy D. Swieter

Do you have propeller products already? The Labs (PDF files) are freely downloaded and you can read and study those. If you have a demo board or proto board you should be able to work through the labs.

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Timothy D. Swieter

www.brilldea.com·- check out the uOLED-IOC, an I/O expansion for the uOLED-96-PROP
www.tdswieter.com

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One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode

jazzed

Well, having downloaded and run easyC V2 for Vex, it looks like you're producing C code from the application.
The structure of the GUI elements are closely related to the C code. You might continue with what you got until you have a firm foundation with C and can build applications with it from scratch. You could buy some good books to help.

The good news for Propeller users who know C is the ImageCraft C tools are making progress. The full version price may be out of range for some, but limited size free versions may be available at some point and have been discussed.

C is widely used since the beginning of the computer epoch and a very marketable skills language. Spin is more obscure, but from a hobbiest point of view this is of little consequence. If you've learned one, you can learn 17 others.

Of course, the Parallax Propeller spin/asm software tool is free. A very flexible Propeller hardware development system can be had for about $45 USD (PropProtoboard & PropPlug) for serial port use (add $15 for the VGA accessory kit you can solder). This of course does not included a bread-board. If you need a breadboard, the Propeller Demo Board comes with all the bells and other whistles (mic input, stereo output, leds, TV composite) for about $80 USD.

If you understand the Lab Ideas Timothy mentioned combined your previous experiences and the spin code makes some sense, then you may as well dive into spin (hope it doesn't become a whirlpool). Of course the Propeller spin language may be just as easy to learn as C since they have many similarities with a dash of some quirky little differences.

Best of luck.

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jazzed·... about·living in·http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Valley

Traffic is slow at times, but Parallax orders·always get here fast 8)

JosephMichael

how big is 1 byte?

Mike Green

These days a byte is 8 bits. You'll notice the term Nibble which refers to 4 bits with two nibbles making up a byte. For Parallax (and most other) microcontrollers, Word refers to a 16 bit word. Parallax uses the term Long for a 32 bit word.