On Sat, Sep 26, 2009 at 6:41 AM, Olin Lathrop wrote: > dismissing you as a time wasting whiner. > I was rather hoping to be accepted as a time wasting whiner. USB was well thought out and is very useful. I got the same speech about PCI as an improvement over the ISA bus, making the world truly plug-and-play. I guess I saw that as a frill, since I could configure hardware anyway. Now, all of these claims do have their merits; it's just overkill for something like connecting a keyboard. There was also that problem of Microsoft and others getting the drivers to work properly, and twice in a row without rebooting. > You're apparently not old enough to remember the days of the serial port. I'd like to let you think that, but I suspect I'd tip my hand in short order anyway. > This isn't > > really the right time to sit down with a cup of coffee and the > > PIC32MX Family Data Sheet > > On the contrary, this is exactly the right time to read the datasheets. > You > get the most bang for the buck by reading the documentation *before* > bumping > around in the dark wondering why nothing works. Sitting down and reading > the datasheet may not be fun, but trying to debug something without the > proper understanding is a lot less fun and a lot more time consuming. > You should appreciate that not everyone learns the same way. I will often work from the inside out. So last week I was looking at the code, and I saw calls for the timer. So I decided to investigate that. This brings me to the 32-bit Peripheral Library Guide (324 pages--did I mention I also have to learn a new compiler?) and I see the various timer functions. So, now to make sense of that I have to go to the datasheet (but do I want the part datasheet or the family datasheet?) where I find that the hardware for the timer hasn't changed radically, but then I think Microchip is designing the peripherals, so they at least should look familiar. So, then, the drill... - Read the datasheet section on the timer - Return to the library documentation, where now their calls and parameters should make more sense - Return to the program, where the use of the timer should make more sense. In this way, I can grok the thing an item at a time as I encounter each piece. > > (do I install the driver first, or do I plug in the device first? > > Always install the driver first. Well, that's my default approach, but in the past, they've put stickers over the port saying, "No, install the driver first!" and clear instructions. Now I suspect that's not so important anymore, but I was left guessing. I don't recall what the actual procedure was that got it going, but I know I had to go around trying things a few times before I got a connect. The downside, by the way, of running the installer first, is that sometimes you want to install a printer, and you wind up with three photo editors and a subscription to a picture posting web site in the process. So if I can have a device call for a driver, I prefer doing it that way. > Read the documentation first, then try things one step at a time. That way > when things stop working you know what little thing you did to cause it. A.k.a., "What did you touch last?" > If you are looking for instant gratification, go find something other than > microcontrollers to play with. > Homebrew aircraft, perhaps? ;) -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist