The Arduino Alphabet

In the preceding chapters, you learned the basics of Arduino and the fundamental building blocks available to you. Let’s go over what makes up the “Arduino Alphabet”:

Digital output

We used it to control an LED but, with the proper circuit, it can be used to control motors, make sounds, and a lot more.

Analogue output

This gives us the ability to control the brightness of the LED, not just turn it on or off. We can even control the speed of a motor with it.

Digital input

This allows us to read the state of sensors that just say yes or no, like pushbuttons or tilt switches.

Analogue input

We can read signals from sensors that have more information than just on or off, like a potentiometer that can tell where it’s been turned to, or a light sensor that can tell how much light is on it.

Serial communication

This allows us to communicate with a computer and exchange data or simply monitor what’s going on with the sketch that’s running on the Arduino.

Now that you have learned the alphabet we can start to write poetry!