Programming Arduino: Getting Started With Sketches

by Monk Simon

This is an introductory Arduino programming guide for artists and hobbyists. It leads the reader from basic through more advanced C programming concepts. Dozens of examples can be used as-is or modified - all code available for download.

Genres: Programming, Reference, Technology, Nonfiction, Computer Science, Engineering, Science

162 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2011

Reviews

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted more with this book. The overall concept is sound, teach those interested in the basics of Arduino programming. Unfortunately, the book is so far removed from the actual breadboards, components, and wiring, that it could have easily been written for almost any microcontroller or microprocessor.

I actually much preferred the basic book that came with my Arduino kit, "Arduino Projects Book" since it was focused primarily on teaching you how to connect components with supporting programming to get the controller to do as you wanted. Monk's book, on the other hand, left me feeling like, "Oh, okay I have some code, but how do I set up the connections and components to actually get it to work?"

Overall, I felt this short book was focused but lacked the depth and integration with Arduino to be useful to me long term. I don't feel I'll be reaching for this book when I need to remember that part about coding for some specific function.

Basically it failed to accomplish my specific approach to Arduino programming, namely coming up with an idea, setting up a breadboard and the components to get the circuitry created and then writing code to make it all function. I much preferred John Boxall's "Arduino Workshop: A Hands-On Introduction with 65 Projects" since it provided in-depth examples, schematics, and explanations of why specific choices were made with the specific component and coding choices.

[حسين كاظم · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book as an introducrion to the Arduino programming world, and it was written in a nicely simplified way. But what I have figured out throughout reading it, is that READING itself is not very helpful while learning this stuff. I found it more helpful to watch youtube videos, courses and practicing between the software & the hardware. So I guess I will continue learning about Arduino programming by watching youtube tutorials and courses, and applying that practically by the device itself.

[David Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit more basic than I expected, but I haven't done any C/C++ programming since uni (20 years ago!) so it was a good refresher

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very clear introduction to programming Arduino. In addition to explaining the basics of the Arduino board, and libraries, Monk has a very clear introduction to programming in C that will serve novice programmers well, and also help re-orient those who have not used C for some time. After a fairly basic first half, Monk dives into more elaborate (yet still approachable) projects involving web servers and IoT like applications.

I got this book for 2 reasons. First, to help me understand enough to work with my 11 year old on a project, and second, to get me over the "this is firmware... I'm a software developer" hump quickly. This worked for both. I now feel confident enough to tackle some basic projects with reasonable degrees of success, and also that I can debug others in a systematic manner.

This may be redundant if you already have a deep knowledge of C, and another good Arduino tutorial, but if you feel at all intimidated by Arduino projects, and are curious about possibilities, it's worth it.

[Viet Dung Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I definitely recommend this for any newbies in Arduino programming.

The book provides a wide range of basic knowledge about Arduino programming and cues for you to make further exploration in C++ programming if you want. I had been practised programming when I was at university, so I remember a little bit about C++, Python, Matlab, which are helpful when I learn to program Arduino.

Unfortunately, there are several chapters of the book I cannot practice due to lack of equipment like an LCD or an Ethernet board. I am sure I will come back for those after I buy more components.
Note that the bouncer library now is upgraded to bouncer 2 (I cannot find the 1st version although the author apply the 1st version in the book), you had better check it in Arduino forum.

[Avesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A seriously intense guidebook to getting started with Arduino.

Rather unfortunately though, readers are fed with a silver spoon in the sense that there is little to no attempt by Simon Monk to give readers their own problems or challenges to try and solve in order to cement their knowledge and understanding.

Instead, Monk just provides you with pages and pages of code - but doesn't really help you do anything else.

Still, I made some great thorough notes from the book. So much lost potential though - which essentially led me to taking just under a year to finish the read. There's nothing here (other than particular content like IoT) that would make you want to pick it up and read as much of it as possible, so really no motivation.

[Edison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this is a pretty good book for people who are interested in programming and computers. However, it really lacks information on the hardware side, so it is not the best book for a beginner who wants to learn about Arduinos. It did have plenty of information on the programming language itself, but it made the book seem too much like a textbook, and that made the book a little boring. I would recommend this book to people who really enjoy programming, as the C language that is used with the arduino is very similar to many other coding languages.

[Ravi Sinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very basic entry to the world of Arduino. Much like how with littleBits I appreciate the idea but dislike the impracticality; I have the same arguments about Arduino. Great concept, I can see why and how it can be appealing, but once you start getting into it there's dozens of different kinds of boards (and other electronic equipment) that you have to buy and hoard. From the standpoint of versatility, a cheap computer can do a lot more (even though you'd be limited to simulations only). Nice little book, nice intro to this world, however.

[Bob Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is what it says it is a book designed to get you programming the Arduino quickly. It is somewhat sparse on details at time but would be good for someone just getting their feet wet. The explanations seem good to me but I may not be the best judge having forty years of programming experience. It could go into more detail in places but for a beginner the amount of detail is probably about right.

[Rahul Chowdhury · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is good for those who are new to programming. It covers Arduino at a very basic level. Almost 1/4 of the book is dedicated to C Programming Language (the basics), which you can skip if you already know it. Rest of the book can be skimmed over quickly and does not require much effort.

Considering the amount and quality of information provided, the price is too much to pay for. Most of the things discussed in this book can be easily found on Internet.

[Collin Dinsmoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adequate starter

I will start by saying that I take some responsibility for this review rating. I did not adequately research the book other than note lots of 5 star ratings by a number of people. I should have paid more attention to the title as getting started is key. I will use it but I am going to look for more of a comprehensive reference I can turn to when stuck trying to go beyond basic function.

[Debbie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

I’m a veteran techie with many years of embedded systems experience. I wanted a book to get a quick start on Arduino and this book did the trick. I’m rockin on Arduino now! It touched on a lot of things so if you want more in-depth information, you’ll need go to a more advanced book or search online. Again, this book is focused on getting started quickly and it did a great job at that for me.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Passing time at soccer practice with my PD book. Good info, but I wished it had a bit more...I guess it just shows how far my Arduino skills have come:) great for true beginners but it could have stretched our learning a bit more.

[Joao Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy to read. Simon Monk presents the programming Arduino know-how from basic sketches to more advanced practices. The book doesn't go deep in any of the subjects being only entry level. Is a good start point if you're starting to create your pet projects using Arduino microcontrollers.

[Morgan Goose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid introduction to writing code for an Arduino. Fun to get back into C and C++ a bit. Examples were clear, code worked, and the information was well presented.

Would recommend this succinct guide to anyone picking up one of these microcontrollers.

[Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't have much to say about this book. It seemed alright. It did clarify some things about the wifi modules that had me confused. It covers a bit of programming without going too deep, it doesn't cover any electronics.

[Hussam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Expected more from the book

[Guoqi Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Easy to understand

Good for beginner. Don’t require any programming backgrounds for reading this book. Can finish in 1 day if you have programming experience

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful with a lot of different concepts. Easy to get through.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful! This book gave me the tools to get from a blinking light to a wireless environmental data-logging system.

[Wanda J.]

Clear guide for introducing the basics of the Arduino and overview of programming upon which to build more complex actions.

[Zach de Walsingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for what it covered, wish it was longer and more indepth.

[Bianca Gaskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get this book

I love this book!! So much goes into this book. And I want u recommended it. 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂 u love it

[Marcello D. Fiscella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read


Gives you all the basics to get started. Also makes a great reference. Provides the basic foundation for old coding habits.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book on Arduino sketches.

I have been playing around with Arduino and this was a big help for some of my cool new projects.

4.8/5

[Daniel Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good. There’s better books and websites

[David Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Programming Arduino Getting Started With Sketches by Simon Monk which is a very good book which I bought from kindle. This book which is somewhat brief is a guide to programming the Arduino in C. It is normally programmed via a computer and there is an optional LCD screen you can buy for the Arduino. It is more suited to controlling stuff than the Raspberry Pi although is compatible with less programming languages but is more ruggedly constructed. The Arduino is open source so its specifications are freely available and many manufacturers make similar boards with names like the Boarduino and Lilypad. The Arduino name is trademarked and most people doing projects want the genuine article. Sometimes these similar boards are more suited to certain tasks like the Lilypad is most suited to electronics projects connected to being implanted in clothing and is so called because the board is surrounded in a circular fashion with sensors which resemble a flower. You will probably need a basic multimeter to work with an Arduino to identify its various power connector which are at several different voltages. The Arduino can detect adjustable readings in something like amps or volts which is something the Raspberry Pi can't do. I did really enjoy this book but it doesn't go into enough detail about C and programming it. I think C is a difficult programming language and if you intend using it you will probably have to read additional books.

[Scott W. Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of what's in here can be learned from reading tutorials and other information on the web, but this book does a good job of bringing it all together in one place. I came to Arduino with some understanding of electronics and a good background in C-based programming languages, so I skimmed over quite a bit of it. But for someone who has limited experience programming but wants to try out Arduino and understand the language, this book will be very helpful. But even with all I've read, I picked up a couple things from this book that have proven helpful, enough that it was worth buying a used copy for a few bucks. I feel I got my money's worth out of it.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to Arduino…

…but fairly superficial.

I doubt a newbie will be able to do any meaningful Arduino programming after reading this book. The material is too light for that. That would be OK if the book contained references to additional in-depth material. And if you are a tech person then you’ll probably find the book too simple.

If you have no clue what Arduino is and what it can be used for, then this is a quick read that will clue you in (a little tech understanding helps). Then maybe the material is just right!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for Beginners to Arduino

The text was simple and straight forward. It does a great job introducing the Arduino and the IDE to the reader. It skims the surface of a variety of more advanced topics. Those with more experience might not find it enlightening, but it is great for those just getting started.