Chapter 1, Discover the Arduino Ethernet Shield, introduces the Arduino Ethernet shield by showing you how to set up everything so you can easily build more exciting applications in the next chapters. We are going to connect the Ethernet shield to your router, and make sure that it can access the Web.

Chapter 2, Sending Data to a Web Server, explains how to connect a temperature and humidity sensor to your Arduino board and use the Ethernet shield to send this data continuously to a web server running on your computer. We will also plot this data in real time on the web server so that you can visualize it in your browser.

Chapter 3, Data Logging Station, uses the same hardware as in the previous chapter, but we will make the Arduino Ethernet more independent. We will log the data measured by the board locally on an SD card, and also create a web server on the Ethernet shield so that it can be accessed from any device in your local network.

Chapter 4, Controlling Objects from Anywhere, covers how to connect a relay module to our Arduino and Ethernet shield hardware so that it can be controlled via the network. We are first going to control this relay module from within your local network, and then use a dedicated service to be able to control this relay from anywhere. As an example, we are also going to connect a lamp to this relay module.

Chapter 5, Internet of Things with Xively, continues with cloud-connected projects by interfacing the Ethernet shield with a cloud service called Xively. Using this service, we will be able to send the data measured by our project to the Web and monitor it in real time from the Xively website, from anywhere in the world.

Chapter 6, Logging Data in Google Docs, uses the web service Temboo to interface the Ethernet shield with even more web services such as Google Docs or Gmail. For example, we are going to make measurements using our Arduino board and automatically log these results in a Google Docs spreadsheet, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

You will need several hardware and software components to make all the projects found in this book. Of course, you can just read the description of the projects and learn this way. However, I really recommend actually doing the projects yourself to really learn about how to use the Arduino Ethernet shield to build exciting networking applications.

The hardware components required are detailed at the beginning of each chapter. However, what you will really need for all the projects is an Arduino board.

All the projects of the book are based on the Arduino Uno board:

http://arduino.cc/en/Main/arduinoBoardUno

For all the projects of this book, you will also need the Arduino Ethernet shield:

http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardEthernet

On the software side, there is some software that we will use in all the chapters of the book. The first software that we will use in all the chapters is the Arduino IDE that you need to install. You can download it from:

http://arduino.cc/en/main/software

The Ethernet library itself is contained within the Arduino IDE, so you won't need to install it yourself. There are also several external libraries you will need, but these are detailed in each chapter where they are necessary.

You will also need a web server running on your computer for some of the projects. I recommend using software that integrates a web server and a database, and that handles all the details for you.

If you are working on Windows, I recommend using EasyPHP:

http://www.easyphp.org/

Under OS X, I recommend using MAMP:

http://www.mamp.info/

For Linux, you can follow the instructions provided at the following link to install a web server:

http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/lamp

Make sure that the server is running at this point; we are going to use it in several projects in this book.

This book is for all those who are willing to build exciting connected Arduino projects using the Ethernet shield. You actually don't need to know the Arduino platform beforehand as all the projects will be explained step by step with clear instructions. You also don't need any prior knowledge in the Ethernet technology. The only thing you need to understand is the projects found in this book are just basic knowledge in electronics and programming.

This book is also for electronic hobbyists who want to learn more about the Arduino platform. By executing the projects found in this book, you will learn about many possible ways to use the Arduino Ethernet shield. You will also learn how to connect sensors and actuators to Arduino and control them within your local network.

Finally, this book is also for those who are willing to learn more about the Internet of Things framework using the Arduino Ethernet shield. The last chapters of the book are dedicated to building projects that are connected to cloud services and can be accessed from anywhere in the world, simply by connecting your Arduino projects to your Internet router via Ethernet.

In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.

Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "In the setup() function of the sketch, we will try to get an IP address using DHCP."

A block of code is set as follows:

String log_time = String(day()) + "/" + 
String(month()) + "/" + String(year()) + " " + 
String(hour()) + ":" + String(minute()) + ":" + 
String(second());

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

# 192.168.1.103/digital/7/1

New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "If you are using Windows, you will find the information you need under Network Settings in your Control Panel."

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