Get started with PlatformIO, a great alternative to the Arduino IDE. Examples with Arduino, ESP32 & XIAO microcontrollers.

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Today we are going to be programming microcontrollers with PlatformIO, a development environment with many advantages over the Arduino IDE.

I’ll show you how to install PlatformIO under Visual Studio Code (VS Code), a free programming environment from Microsoft (yes, Microsoft also makes free software!). Full instructions for Linux, Mac OS X, and MS Windows.

After we add the PlatformIO plugin to VS Code I’ll show you examples of using it with an Arduino Uno, an ESP32 development module, and a Seeeduino XIAO. You’ll quickly see the advantages of using this amazing programming environment.

I’ll also show you how to use the PlatformIO Library Manager, and how it differs from using libraries with the Arduino IDE. To do this we’ll also build a dual servo motor controller with an LCD display.

Here is the Table of Contents for today's video:

00:00 - Introduction
02:22 - PlatformIO Basics
06:51 - Install VS Code - Linux
08:28 - Install VS Code - Mac OS X
10:13 - Install VS Code - MS Windows 10
11:55 - Install PlatformIO plugin for VS Code
13:56 - PlatformIO Basics with Arduino Uno
18:29 - PlatformIO Basics with ESP32
21:09 - PlatformIO Basics with Seeeduino XIAO
25:18 - Functions with PlatformIO vs Arduino IDE
31:17 - PlatformIO Library Management Basics
33:43 - Dual Servo Controller Demo Hookup
36:01 - Dual Servo Controller Code & Demo
46:44 - Understanding the platformio.ini file

Hopefully, after viewing this video you’ll be tempted to give PlatformIO a try. It can really speed and improve your coding tasks once you get used to it, and you’ll be seeing more of it here in the DroneBot Workshop.