Arduino I/O functions

As we all know that Arduino programming language can be divided in three main parts: structure, functions, and values (variables and constants).

In my last article I have discussed about the Structure the Arduino program.

Now let as learn about the functions in Arduino program.

Functions:

Segmenting code into functions allows a programmer to create modular pieces of code that perform a defined task and then return to the area of code from which the function was "called". The typical case for creating a function is when one needs to perform the same action multiple times in a program.

For programmers accustomed to using BASIC, functions in Arduino provide (and extend) the utility of using subroutines (GOSUB in BASIC).

Standardizing code fragments into functions has several advantages:

• Functions help the programmer stay organized. Often this helps to conceptualize the program.

• Functions codify one action in one place so that the function only has to be thought out and debugged once.

• This also reduces chances for errors in modification, if the code needs to be changed.

• Functions make the whole sketch smaller and more compact because sections of code are reused many times.

• They make it easier to reuse code in other programs by making it more modular, and as a nice side effect, using functions also often makes the code more readable.

There are two required functions in an Arduino sketch, setup() and loop(). Other functions must be created outside the brackets of those two functions. As an example, we will create a simple function to multiply two numbers.

To "call" our simple multiply function, we pass it parameters of the datatype that it is expecting:

void loop(){

int i = 2;

int j = 3;

int k;

k = myMultiplyFunction(i, j); // k now contains 6

}

Our function needs to be declared outside any other function, so "myMultiplyFunction()" can go either above or below the "loop()" function.

The entire sketch would then look like this:

void setup () {

  Serial.begin(9600);

}

void loop() {

  int i = 2;

  int j = 3;

  int k;

  k = myMultiplyFunction(i, j); // k now contains 6

  Serial.println(k);

  delay(500);

}

int myMultiplyFunction(int x, int y){

  int result;

  result = x * y;

  return result;

}

Let’s see some basic functions related to Startup and GPIO that are frequently used in Arduino IDE.

Functions at startup

1. setup ()
2. loop ()

We have studied setup () and loop () in previous article.

Now let us see about the Functions using GPIO

1. pinMode ()
2. digitalRead ()
3. digitalWrite ()
4. analogRead ()
5. analogWrite ()                                
6. analogReference ()

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