Book Image

Creative DIY Microcontroller Projects with TinyGo and WebAssembly

By : Tobias Theel
Book Image

Creative DIY Microcontroller Projects with TinyGo and WebAssembly

By: Tobias Theel

Overview of this book

While often considered a fast and compact programming language, Go usually creates large executables that are difficult to run on low-memory or low-powered devices such as microcontrollers or IoT. TinyGo is a new compiler that allows developers to compile their programs for such low-powered devices. As TinyGo supports all the standard features of the Go programming language, you won't have to tweak the code to fit on the microcontroller. This book is a hands-on guide packed full of interesting DIY projects that will show you how to build embedded applications. You will learn how to program sensors and work with microcontrollers such as Arduino UNO and Arduino Nano IoT 33. The chapters that follow will show you how to develop multiple real-world embedded projects using a variety of popular devices such as LEDs, 7-segment displays, and timers. Next, you will progress to build interactive prototypes such as a traffic lights system, touchless hand wash timer, and more. As you advance, you'll create an IoT prototype of a weather alert system and display those alerts on the TinyGo WASM dashboard. Finally, you will build a home automation project that displays stats on the TinyGo WASM dashboard. By the end of this microcontroller book, you will be equipped with the skills you need to build real-world embedded projects using the power of TinyGo.
Table of Contents (13 chapters)
10
Afterword

Preface

If JavaScript or C# can run on microcontrollers, then Go can do it even better. While standard Go produces huge binaries, TinyGo produces binaries that fit on the smallest devices. Why should you choose Go for microcontroller and Wasm (short for WebAssembly) programming? My favorite reasons are that Go is easy to learn, easy to read, and easy to write. Also, Go comes with a powerful standard library that is loosely coupled and has strong concurrency capabilities included.

If you love Go as a language, then this book is for you. After working through this book, you'll have all the tools and knowledge you need to build all the microcontroller projects that you have ever dreamed of. Plus, as a further benefit, you will be able to build dashboards and home control apps using Wasm for your home automation projects. All of this can be achieved using TinyGo.

If you have never worked with microcontrollers before, here are some reasons why you should try it out:

  • If you already are a programmer, it is a cool thing to see code affecting real-world appliances. It really is a great feeling to complete a project and finally see the motor turning, the LED blink, the buzzer beep, and so on.
  • You will be constantly learning new things and gaining a deeper understanding of how computers work in general, as you will become familiar with different types of bus systems, protocols, hardware interfaces, and much more.
  • The possibilities are virtually limitless when you're playing with microcontrollers. You are not bound to what is available on the market, as you can simply build everything on your own.
  • You can learn how to write small, efficient programs to tell a microcontroller what you want from it. This will also help you become a better developer in general.
  • You can contribute to cool projects and get in touch with great communities of like-minded people.