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why_cduino.html
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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Why Cduino</title>
<meta name="keywords" content="cduino, arduino, programming, C programming,
make, vi, avrdude, atmel, microcontroller" />
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<body>
<h1>Why Cduino</h1>
<h2>Cduino vs. Arduino</h2>
The Arduino hardware is extremely convenient, but the software is complex and
deliberately hides a lot of detail. To me the glory of microcontrollers
isn't the fact that they cost $1, it's that they are simple enough that you
have a fighting chance of knowing exactly what they're doing, and what they
will be doing the next microsecond. The arduino project does an amazing job
of making a $5 microcontroller feel a bit like a $50 PC10 platform, but in
doing so they've lost a bit of the simplicity. <p />
Cduino also tries to make it simpler to migrate from the Arduino to even
simpler hardware setups, in particular those that lack a USB serial interface
and bootloader. This may be interesting to users for whom cost is a factor.
<p />
<h2>Cduino vs. Real Time OS</h2>
Compared to real-time operating systems, Cduino is again simpler: it isn't an
operating system and you get to do the task management yourself. Since many
microcontroller applications do exactly one or two things, this usually isn't
hard. Cduino avoids using interrupts wherever possible, which means that
things like serial communication are not interrupt-driven. This keeps them
simple and leaves the interrupt-space open for your use. If you find
yourself wanting to do many tasks or wanting to communicate while continuing
other low-latency tasks, maybe you should invest another $1 in a second
microcontroller :) <p />
<h2>Cduino vs. Atmel Software Framework</h2>
I haven't tried the <a href="http://www.atmel.com/tools/avrsoftwareframework.aspx?tab=overview">Atmel Software Framework</a>, but software-wise it looks
architecturally similar to Cduino and really nice :) It's generalized across
many Atmel chips (Cduino is ATMega-centric), but doesn't support external
hardare (Cduino supports a smattering of Arduino Shields with a particular
focus on communication interfaces).
<h2>Cduino as a Reference</h2>
It's reasonable to "use" Cduino simply as a collection of precise, tested
recipes that describe how to use various hardware. The source code is
carefully commented and linked from the API documentation. When the hardware
requires something surprising, there are explanatory comments.<p />
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