I have all Atmega, Arduino, Propeller, PIC, dsPIC and even the 68HC11, and the Basic stamp.
I tried Arduino a few days ago and I love the shields. Perhaps I would make my own version of Arduino with the Propeller chip inside too (someone else did that I guess).
I do not have much problems programming the Propeller, as I've tried a few Spin codes on it. Worked pretty well. There are many things I haven't tried yet, like the video signal and the stuff due to my postgraduate work.
As far as I know, all the microcontrollers and the boards I've used are great. I wouldn't switch to another, instead I complement them.
Part of me is wishing this thread would die of old age. People are either universalist that enjoy all the platforms or specialist that tout their own comfort zone. I'd like to think that i am in the first slot and that it is the foremost. Embrace Arduinos and Propellers for different reasons.
At the center of the whole issue is the use of interrupts to get multiple tasks done. The Arduinos use interrupts and at some point you find interrupts get so entwined that you can do no more.
On the other hand, the Propeller has 8 processors in parallel that tend to be like juggling 8 balls rather than one. It can take some getting use to and it makes the Arduino SEEM to be simpler. But at the end of exploring both, I think most will agree that the Propeller can do quite a bit more, and with less complex code - especially if you want to generate video.
The things I like about AVR chips are [1] the built in ADCs and [2] the built in RTO. But we may eventually get a Propeller 2 with built in ADCs and that built in RTO limits much of what the AVR can do because it is dependent on regular interrupts.
In sum, there are trade offs and nothing will ever satisfy the perfectionist or the guy that is hoping someone else will build his board and write his code.
Part of me is wishing this thread would die of old age. People are either universalist that enjoy all the platforms or specialist that tout their own comfort zone. I'd like to think that i am in the first slot and that it is the foremost. Embrace Arduinos and Propellers for different reasons.
I would like and would request more resolution on the video, more colors and more ram.
Yes there is a middle ground. I always enjoy learning a new platform, though generally only use those that are most useful for the tasks I do.
Currently the ones I use to varying extents are:
Propeller I (currently the most used by me).
ATMega AVR
CPU32
680x0
PPC
ARM
x86/IA32
The MCU that shall not be mentioned.
6502/65816
I like the Propeller, and I like the AVR. I can see reasons to use either one and reasons why either one can kind of suck. But there is a community that gets really effusive about Arduino for being able to do what you can do many ways, often cheaper, simpler, and better elsewhere. .
The advantage of being Open Source is obvious, of course, and why Google picked the Arduino platform. Google knows all about this advantage and that is why they decided to make Android 3.0 closed source, not open as earlier versions of Android were. Huh?
I believe Android 3.0 will be open source at some point. They are just letting Motorola and whoever have a head start advantage for a while. It's a good way to motivate them in to building neat hardware and be sure of a return on their investment. If all goes to plan its good for everyone.
Comments
I tried Arduino a few days ago and I love the shields. Perhaps I would make my own version of Arduino with the Propeller chip inside too (someone else did that I guess).
I do not have much problems programming the Propeller, as I've tried a few Spin codes on it. Worked pretty well. There are many things I haven't tried yet, like the video signal and the stuff due to my postgraduate work.
As far as I know, all the microcontrollers and the boards I've used are great. I wouldn't switch to another, instead I complement them.
At the center of the whole issue is the use of interrupts to get multiple tasks done. The Arduinos use interrupts and at some point you find interrupts get so entwined that you can do no more.
On the other hand, the Propeller has 8 processors in parallel that tend to be like juggling 8 balls rather than one. It can take some getting use to and it makes the Arduino SEEM to be simpler. But at the end of exploring both, I think most will agree that the Propeller can do quite a bit more, and with less complex code - especially if you want to generate video.
The things I like about AVR chips are [1] the built in ADCs and [2] the built in RTO. But we may eventually get a Propeller 2 with built in ADCs and that built in RTO limits much of what the AVR can do because it is dependent on regular interrupts.
In sum, there are trade offs and nothing will ever satisfy the perfectionist or the guy that is hoping someone else will build his board and write his code.
I would like and would request more resolution on the video, more colors and more ram.
Then there are folk like me, who enjoy some platforms!
--Rich
Currently the ones I use to varying extents are:
Propeller I (currently the most used by me).
ATMega AVR
CPU32
680x0
PPC
ARM
x86/IA32
The MCU that shall not be mentioned.
6502/65816
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/05/why-google-choosing-arduino-matters-and-the-end-of-made-for-ipod-tm.html
I like the Propeller, and I like the AVR. I can see reasons to use either one and reasons why either one can kind of suck. But there is a community that gets really effusive about Arduino for being able to do what you can do many ways, often cheaper, simpler, and better elsewhere. .
The advantage of being Open Source is obvious, of course, and why Google picked the Arduino platform. Google knows all about this advantage and that is why they decided to make Android 3.0 closed source, not open as earlier versions of Android were. Huh?