GIRA

Description

This project consists of a Squeak Etoys interface with the famous Arduino board.

It has three programming modes:

• Direct: The script will be executed in the computer and the orders will be transferred to the board via a serial port. It requires a serial connection with the board in order to run.
• Compiled: The script will be compiled and run inside the board. No communication with the computer is used afterwards.
• Firmata: The same as direct mode but it requires StandardFirmata installed in the board before connecting.

We used to rely on the Firmata protocol to handle the communication with the board but we developed a new protocol to solve some problems we had with it. We recommend using the new direct mode.

All the pictures of electronic devices were taken from Fritzing.

NOTE: This project has now become a part of Physical Etoys.

The easiest way to get started with this project is to simply download Physical Etoys.

Source code

To get the source code, you should check the Arduino squeaksource repository.

This project has been developed in Smalltalk, a dynamic object oriented programming language. If you’re new to Smalltalk we strongly recommend you to give it a try. One of the best ways to learn Smalltalk is to download one of the versions of Smalltalk (we recommend you to start either with Squeak or Pharo), install it, and grab a copy of one of the many free online Smalltalk books.

If you’re already familiar with Smalltalk we encourage you to take a look at the project’s source code and, if you feel like it, contribute some of your own code to the project. We would highly appreciate your contributions.

Videos

License

This project is being developed under the MIT license.