AVR Programming: Learning to Write Software for Hardware

by Elliot Williams

Atmel's AVR microcontrollers are the chips that power Arduino, and are the go-to chip for many hobbyist and hardware hacking projects. In this book you'll set aside the layers of abstraction provided by the Arduino environment and learn how to program AVR microcontrollers directly. In doing so, you'll get closer to the chip and you'll be able to squeeze more power and features out of it.

Each chapter of this book is centered around projects that incorporate that particular microcontroller topic. Each project includes schematics, code, and illustrations of a working project.


Program a range of AVR chips
Extend and re-use other people’s code and circuits
Interface with USB, I2C, and SPI peripheral devices
Learn to access the full range of power and speed of the microcontroller
Build projects including Cylon Eyes, a Square-Wave Organ, an AM Radio, a Passive Light-Sensor Alarm, Temperature Logger, and more
Understand what's happening behind the scenes even when using the Arduino IDE

Genres: Programming, Technology, Nonfiction

472 pages, Paperback

First published August 22, 2013

Reviews

[Neeraj Adhikari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writers of 'for beginners' books take note, because this is how all 'for beginners' books should be.

For a long time, I have had a fascination with hardware programming. As a garden variety application programmer, my work and hobby projects didn't provide me with much opportunity to interact with the world other than through the confines of a screen. Sometimes it was background code, running on my computer or in a server far away, doing work that was serious but so intangible. I wanted see my code move things, blink lights, control devices, make things happen. And what I feel now is that I picked the right book to learn how to do all of that. The author has the appropriate level of enthusiasm (which is, a lot of it) for what he is teaching, and he does an excellent job of imparting that enthusiasm to the reader. I had fun reading the book, right from the first page. It also helps that his sense of humor is on point. So if you want to get started on programming microcontrollers and want to play with hardware, grab this book and start reading.

The best way to read this book is, as it itself prescribes, to build and program along with the book, chapter by chapter. As I had already started a project on my own, I didn't do that and missed out on some of the fun.

The book is meant to be read by people who either have hardware experience but not a lot of software experience or vice versa. As a consequence of that, people from either background will find some portions tedious and skippable. But that is minor enough to not affect the 5-star rating I give this book.

[Michal Angelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those funny 'tools' that you keep on your work-bench and use infrequently but are always happy it is there. Whereas Programming and Customizing the AVR Microcontroller is the natural predicate displaying how the AVR is made, Make:AVR shows you how to fully utilize its capabilities. Analog/Digital I/O & conversions, motor control, SPI, I2C, and memory. My volume is all marked-up with notes, stickies, and dog-eared pages--looks like it took several rides on the floor of the bus.

[Mark Moran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really useful book. Well written, fun, and packs a lot of great tips for programming AVR micro controllers into one place.

[Brian Salehi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a fun journey of programming AVR micro controllers and also want to dive into the field, this is a right book to read.
Williams kept the text fun to read and made projects practical and fun to do.
Some topics might not be fully covered, though.
I was looking to use WiFi with AVR micro, I didn't catch anything here. But the rest of topics are covered effectively.

[Gregório · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read more or less half of the book. It is an interesting book if you are just starting out. However, AVR is not much used in my field of work. That's why I decided it wouldn't make much sense to put the effort to keep reading it to the end.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reference.

[Tauno Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for a beginner and everyone who likes Arduino.

[Arash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Book, helped me get over the line from Arduino programmer to AVR programer. The included project starter code is especially helpful.

[Hielke Bezemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Note to self: I'll have to re-read it again and then test the code with my arduino. (So the theory will stick)

[Bruce Lowther · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am re-reading this book in order to refresh my understanding of ATMEL. I have a few new components that I want to play. Now I'm delving into the later chapters on interfacing with I2C components.

I'm reminded of how well written this book is. This is a good place to start if you're interested in learning microcontrollers. I wouldn't call it an introductory book as it does require some fundamental understanding of electronics, but it will get you to blinking LEDs pretty quick and you can explore from there.

[Erik]

I have not given up on AVRs yet (8 bit wonders that they are) but I'm focusing most of my attention on ARM Cortex M* nowadays so I'm putting this book on hold. I will definitely pick it up again soon.

[Bruce Lowther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for those that are wanting to move past the Arduino and understand the underlying microcontroller. I have referenced back to this book many times as I'm working my way through my own projects.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too project-oriented. Gets you over the hump of going from Arduino to a standalone chip and avr-gcc/avrdude, but after that nothing you couldn't have figured out from datasheets. I also wish it had spent some time on AVR assembly.

[Mills College Library]

629.89 W7228 2013