Arduino Sketch with millis() instead of delay()

[@programmingelectronics]

****If you like this, I think you'll like the premium Arduino training we offer. You can check it out here**** bit.ly/3lHyzcB

[@Darkstar327]

please make a video on arduino sensor kit i need help on it btw your videos are amazing

[@cschmitz]

This is a great explanation. The visuals really help wrap your head around the concept. Thanks for the vid!

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks for watching!

[@AlienRelics]

Using previousTime = currentTime; will introduce an accumulating error. The time to process the code within the if statement will add to the time and accumulate. For just blinking LEDs or some other none critical stuff, no big deal. But if you simply use: previousTime += interval; You've just gotten rid of the cumulative error.

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks for bringing this up Steve!

[@AlienRelics]

@@programmingelectronics It probably won't affect most of what people will use this for, but it is just the sort of thing to drive you crazy later when you can't figure out why your timing is slipping.

[@plugnugget3672]

Smoooth animation bro. I love the homey type design, backdrop is really chill. Casually printing ice ice bb to the serial monitor lol. Explained it fantstic with the carrot comparison. Sending money but more importantly encouragment. Your great at this! keep going - seriously God Bless ;) - J. T

[@programmingelectronics]

Appreciate that - thanks for your generosity J.T.!

[@johnrees44..G4EIJ]

I'm an 'old timer', and after a year of struggling with the theory and even the basic concept of 'millis', I've finally 'got it'! Thank you for the best Arduino 'millis' tutorial, and it's been my good fortune to find it..I look forward to watching more of your videos in future. John.. Bristol.. UK

[@programmingelectronics]

Excellent! Great to hear John!

[@johnmitchell4836]

I think Micheal is THE BEST TRAINER out there to learn the basics of programming in Arduino!!! I've spent many hours watching all kinds of Arduino videos before I found Micheal's - Programming Electronics Academy. I signed up and watched ALL of his videos and it was well worth the money!!! I highly recommend it to anyone that is getting into Arduino programming. He is really, really good!!!

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks so much for the kind words John! I am glad you are finding the training helpful!

[@johncorbishley1548]

I have always struggled with this, even with your videos from years ago. I have watched numerous videos and still struggled. This video is simply THE BEST! You have done so well as an experienced programmer to be able to explain to us newby's how this work is such an easy to understand way. I have been copying & pasting other peoples bits of code randomly getting results and as my projects get more complicated, that approach does not work. Well done, you are the best teacher on KZbin for Arduino. No.1 Numero uno!

[@epartsacc]

This is the best "millis()" tutorial I have ever seen. Thanks so much for explaining everything clearly.

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks so much for the note!

[@shaswot]

love the simplicity you bring into the explanation..... i had been reading up on example codes to understand millis function and scratching my head over and over. I wish i had found this video earlier...

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad it helped!

[@jandobbelsteen8953]

The way you show it will usually work nicely. However, the interval at which you trigger your event will be at least eventInterval, but often just a little bit longer. This is because the loop also takes a little time. Sometimes you may want to be more sure that you always trigger your timed event at an 'exact' multiple of 'eventInterval'. In such cases it's better to update your 'previousTime' with the 'eventInterval', like so: previousTime = previousTime + eventInterval;

[@programmingelectronics]

That's a fantastic point - thanks for that adding that Jan!

[@whitejtw]

Wow this is so excellent. I've been bumping up against limitations imposed by my reluctance to learn this methodology but now I'm halfway through the video and excited about the possibilities this engenders.

[@programmingelectronics]

Great! Timing can be a bear. Another thing you might consider is learning about RTOS for scheduling tasks.

[@pedrofelipebezerra4491]

The best explanation I've ever seen about millis()

[@P44L]

true

[@wmrieker]

I like that the if statement works even when the counter overflows so it'll keep going after 49 days and not miss a beat.

[@AbhishekKanti]

Thanks a lot man! I watched numerous videos, but wasn't able understand the concept of space time along with black holes. But now I'm confident enough to derive E=mc².💪

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad it helped :)

[@martinest9458]

what a Legend ! i wish i would of found your videos earlier! Absolutely the best explanation of things. Thank you Sir!

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks a ton! Glad they were helpful.

[@kkaelyn002]

Amazing explanation and visuals to illustrate the more abstract concepts, cheers!

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks for the note! I hope it helped.

[@madhukeshnp]

The best explanation ever... the carrot example was just epic... every noob can understand..... thank you so much for the great tutorial.

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad it helped!

[@philipeanthonybattung3860]

Oh you did great. This will help me on the annoying issue between RF transmitter not sending data because pulse sensor eats all the event

[@programmingelectronics]

Great! Glad it helped!

[@matrix9134]

When you saved me I really love that tutorial it's actually the best thing I've ever watched in the history of our doing it Tori old and I'm not even being hilarious that's the truth thanks man keep up the good work !

[@ahmedessam9092]

You make everything look simple . Thanks

[@programmingelectronics]

I hope it helped! Timing stuff can get confusing quick!

[@michaelg6327]

GOD BLESS YOU! You saved me from days of suffering! You are my Hero!!!

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad it helped!

[@brucesmith9144]

One thing that should be added to the code is a trap for when the value of the millis() function rolls over. Consider if your Arduino is being used on a long term basis exceeding the long int value maximum. The user would want a way to handle that condition and continue the event timer. One quick way would be to check if the new millis() time is less than the previous time then the event timer loop can be reset.

[@Ruudrad]

The way the code is written, by subtraction of unsigned longs, it compensates for roll over. No additional checks are needed.

[@____________________________.x]

I was just wondering about rollover

[@wadebrewer7212]

​@@Ruudrad please explain a bit please. Is it in the code in your face code or firmware side that you simply do not see. As in... If I am using millis to run a tachometer on an engine, and using that tach value to hold ignition on (interlock if you will, if RPM drops it cuts ignition) it will not get the math wrong in seeing the correct rpm? The long term use case here is; the arduino is going to be powered on indefinitely monitoring a signal from inverter to start generator. Once the inverter calls, the arduino will sequence and start the generator. I dont want the roll over to cause am issue with a tach calculation inadvertently shutting down the generator.

[@Ruudrad]

@@wadebrewer7212 I initially also thought roll over would cause problems, however if you use longs _and_ subtract the unsigned longs (holding the output of the millis() function and/or the millis() function itself) the calculation will also work when millis() rolls over (I.E. goes from almost its maximum to just over zero). Strange but true thanks to how subtraction works on a microprocessor, which is NOT exactly the same as mathematical subtraction.

[@wadebrewer7212]

@Ruudrad Thank you tons. I was about to start researching for a work around. The community around this stuff is pretty great. Every once in a while you get the tool that talks down or "why do you want to do that project"....because I can....and at least for now...I am allowed.....lol. Even in my situation....reading and counting every quarter or half second for revolutions....even if it did send a call to shut off the system, the cycles are so quick I don't think it would actually shut down. But...sounds is like it's non issue anyway. Again, thank you for the input and much appreciated.

[@RamyHelmy-vv3gq]

You really have easily way to explain each point,thanks

[@programmingelectronics]

Thank you! I hope it helped!

[@ChadKapper]

These lessons are so well done!!

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks so much Chad - really appreciate that!

[@mykolasbauza]

Thank you for a wholesome explanation! Great stuff!

[@jesus2639]

Thanks you make it so easy to learn

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks - much appreciated!

[@omkarkhade4602]

You are my favourite teacher. Thanks a bunch 😀

[@vjdav6872]

Very clear explanation - I like that. I have taught some stuff in my one past life...Good job!

[@ludionieves5494]

First off, thank you for your very informative video. I know this video is a few years old but I just came across it so my apologies for such a late comment. From your video, and from others, I understand that millis() starts as soon as the Arduino starts running and it keeps running, and increasing, as long as the Arduino is up, at least until it reaches its maximum value and restarts. I'm not sure that you actually CAN reset millis() from within code but everyone seems to say you shouldn't. Apparently doing so can break some libraries that rely on it. In order to understand millis() better I made a little project using code similar to yours to blink the built-in LED on and off at a preset interval while displaying current_elapsed_time (read from millis()) and previous_time, something similar to what you did in your code, and everything ran as expected. However, I noticed that every time I closed the serial monitor and reopened it the current_elapsed_time, which should display the current millis() value, returned to its starting value. The LED continues to blink at the proper interval while the monitor is closed, so I know the code is still running properly. Thinking there was a bug in my code I created a new, stripped-down program which only makes a call to millis() and prints the retrieved value to the serial monitor (see code below) and ran my test again. Same behavior. The code calls for the millis() value to be sent to the serial monitor directly - no massaging or assigning to a variable - and every time I close and reopen the serial monitor it appears to reset millis(). Not sure what is happening. Here is the simplified code I used to test: void setup() { Serial.begin(115200); } void loop() { Serial.println(millis()); } The program runs as expected and, as you can see, there is nothing but the call to print the current value of millis() but millis() seems to be affected by the status of the serial monitor window. Is this normal? Am I missing something? 🤔 Appreciate your help on this. Thank you.

[@georgemugala4830]

Best explanation ever on millis. Thanks alot bro

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks! Glad it helped!

[@conversationwithgod272]

Really a great video.great people behind this Job...The visuals make everything so simple.thanks millions

[@programmingelectronics]

Really appreciate that! Thanks!

[@ruwansamanpriya6085]

Wow.. That was the greatest tutorial I have ever seen on youtube...Thank you...

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Le0mach]

Hi! I'd like to thank you very much for the excelent explanation! I was struggling a bit with millis() until watched you videos. It saved me a lot of time and helped me to understand why my project wasn't working (that's the best way to learn something, by fixing it's bugs)! Keep on doing this awesome job, man!

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks so much for the note Leonardo!

[@mariojulio993]

It becomes very easy to learn from you. You make everything looks so simple. Thanks

[@JeThKo_MSW]

it was taking me forever to figure out why mine wasn't working, then i found out i had "==" instead of ">=" lol thanks for the very clear and concise explanation!

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks a ton for watching - I am glad it helped!

[@emmanuelegel21]

This is awesome! the best explanation ever about millis function. Thanks a lot... Poor millis can't catch the carrot XD

[@rupert274]

You're mean, Emmanuel!

[@jackmini1217]

enjoying this lessons. motivated to keep moving further. thanks a bunch.

[@programmingelectronics]

Great to hear!

[@AerialPhotogGuy]

Very Cool!! You come out with this video just in time for me to use millis() to toggle between volts and amps on an OLED display (without using delays, delays that long when added up would have made the loop way too long for this project). It took me a bit to figure out how to write the second section (like this:) (currentTime - previousTime >= interval + interval_1) I added the second interval time so I could set the volts code to display less time than the amps code since that's the one that needs to be read the most, but I got it. I'm sure I will eventually figure out an easier way but it's good for now and I'm proud of it! :-D The most valuable information in your video series is the fact that the timer continues to count up until the microcontroller is reset or turned off and on again. I now also realize that I can run more than one program from the same millis() function. It's kind of like calculating what needs to happen at different times of the day with a certain amount of time for each task. Yeah, I know, probably a screwed up analogy but there it is LOL :-) Until now I thought that the timer reset each time it was called for. Thanks!! Joe

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks also for sharing your addition on the code - very cool!

[@kashpatel898]

Excellent explanation and coding, with great visuals 👏

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks so much!

[@Khan_Rahman]

why cant every tutorial be like this. Love it best

[@P44L]

Very nice and easy to understand video, thanks!

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks for watching!

[@j.w.8663]

@5:31 Aah, I see what you did there: The Neutron Dance! 😆

[@naboulsikhalid7763]

Great. first time explained, first-time understood. thank you very much

[@programmingelectronics]

Awesome!

[@romycruz4498]

wow that's awesome and well explained ! The presentation is very nice and clean and understandable ! but... what is it again ? ah, needs to rewind this utube vlog again & again.

[@jameskalenga7546]

😄 The millis code was smart. I love that logic

[@ChandanKumar-kr2kj]

Great video. Thanks a lot for making this video.

[@programmingelectronics]

Thank you! Thanks so much for watching!

[@hamouz718]

Very entertaining channel, love your videos, keep them coming

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks - much appreciated!

[@lmatrix6626]

I think this is good idea if you need to step multiple stepper motors at the same time. When using delay() for moving stepper motors you can only move one stepper motor at a time

[@HillsWorkbench]

This detail on the mills() function has been very helpful to me, explains why a program I wrote a few years ago doesn't quite work as expected.

[@programmingelectronics]

Awesome - I am glad it helped!

[@guidoramacciotti3503]

Very clear and simple explanation . Thank you!!

[@hobarey5029]

the best tutorial on millis() ever... thanks...

[@programmingelectronics]

Thank you!

[@annie_obi]

I found your video very helpful. Thank you!

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks so much for watching Anita!

[@omkarbansode6305]

thankyou so much ,it was a really big help

[@programmingelectronics]

Great to hear!

[@fullbridgerecrifier]

Thank you, That saved my life ❤

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad it helped!

[@Jevajs]

you could do the same logic and prob have better runtime using (inside the loop) if (millis() % interval == 0) { // do whatever you want here for every x amt of milliseconds // where x = interval }

[@banzaiiiiii]

In an Ideal situation, you're right. But in reality millis would almost never hit exactly your interval. That's why >= is used in the video, but with your code >= wouldn't work.

[@bluewave31-c5x]

Great video, thanks! One comment though, I think we could also use a modulus operator to manage the event intervals. This would also cause it to run at millis() == 0, but we can use an additional clause to limit this. Perhaps something like: if( currentTime > 0 && currentTime % eventInterval == 0 ) { ...

[@bluewave31-c5x]

Actually, it seemed like this would work in theory, but there needs to be a buffer, as the code would run multiple times at each interval. I guess this is why the lastTime variable is introduced, so that we can ensure the code runs only once per interval. Makes sense - I stand corrected!

[@ensarija]

Thanks for the extensive explenation. I made function out of this, which can receive interval in milliseconds and counter number, so it can be called multiple times and keep prevousTime in array for multiple counters. if(execDelay(2,1000)) { // Do stuff } bool execDelay(int instance, unsigned long v) { unsigned long prevTime[] = {}; if(currTime - prevTime[instance] >= v) { prevTime[instance] = currTime; return true; } else { return false; } }

[@programmingelectronics]

Cool! Thanks for sharing that code!

[@AdemOmerovicBA]

Just one correction, define prevTime outside the function.

[@reylepiten3722]

Thanks for this great explanation..it really helps a lot...

[@lindsaydempsey5683]

Great video, thank you. Question, will that code work correctly when millis() overflows and starts counting up from zero?

[@husseinnejah5337]

this is legendary! massive Thanks

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks!

[@maxabeles]

Simply grand.

[@Simoooooooonn]

Great video

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks!

[@mridulsarkar9015]

Very nice explaination. Thanks

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!

[@Krystino]

Amazing explanation, great thanks. Thus, there is something I don't manage to understand. If I want a start point not equal to the interval, I mean for example an event to start at 30 seconds, and to be repeated 60 seconds later on. Do I need one more variable to be created? Kind regards.

[@mlggeek1812]

Great video! Going to implement it to my project ASAP

[@programmingelectronics]

Thank you! I am glad it helped - best of luck!

[@Sarvesh1110]

Great explanation sir thank you 😁❤

[@NCVluminati]

thankyou, I needed this

[@simplyjust-6912]

Tyyyy this was such a good video 😄

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad you liked it!! Thanks so much for watching!

[@katrinejensrud537]

fantastic video!thank you!

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks for watching!

[@VasilisKarastergios]

You are awesome, I can't wait for the next video! 👍👍

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks!

[@muhammadbilal2000]

Sweet explanation :) Thank you

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@pixies4ever324]

haha.. being mean with the carrot and millis() function. love it.

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks so much for watching!!

[@CapnAhabChannel]

Why not use the modulus function? If (currentTime % eventInterval == 0). It wouldn't be precise on the rollover (unless the interval was a power of 2) but it allows for lots of different intervals with minimal code.

[@CommenterTheMan]

This is very informative

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mohamedsoftline1]

This is a great explanation.

[@Namai.]

very well explained, thx

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!

[@RixtronixLAB]

Nice info, well done, thanks for sharing it :)

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks for watching!

[@Val-eq4sg]

Muchas gracias, At last someone took the time to explain this, I really needed it thank you kind GOD of code..

[@programmingelectronics]

Glad it helped!

[@vamshikp.j.8592]

amazing explanationnnnnn

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks!

[@andrasparanici5491]

The best lesson!

[@martinsiolowosoran5242]

very interesting, a good teacher

[@programmingelectronics]

Thank you!

[@davidsvarrer8942]

Hey Programming Electronics Academy. Your code is good if you want 1000 milliseconds between events, which ie. takes 10 milliseconds to execute. However. If you want things to happen every 1000 milliseconds, sharp, then you will need to add 1000 to the carrot, instead of moving ahead with the relative time. You can say, that you would add 1000 to the limit of 1000 every time, making an absolute goal, rather than adding to the relative currentTime.

[@maybornelectronics7944]

Superb explanation

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks so much for the note and for watching

[@sainumkhey8849]

the best explain tutorial lesson thanks a lot 👍

[@shrikantnikam2426]

Is it possible to make delay function in separate tab and use millis single line command like delay? For make code more simpler

[@attalaw36]

thank you

[@yassirbenmessaoud4587]

Very helpfull! , but how it looks when you have a Button with some conditions? Thanks!

[@Ivan-wb4id]

After some time , millis wont be precise. Is there a way to restart millis after 1 second has passed. Like count up to 1000 milis, and then restert it to count again to 1000?

[@vasha1548]

love it

[@HARSH9909]

Such a nice video 🙂

[@punjabilog]

Thank you very much Sir... Great Video

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks!

[@yuriu8]

Wow mate thanks it amazing lessons

[@lucienramono]

so nicely explain thank you :)

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks for watching!

[@hobarey5029]

very informative...thanks a lot...

[@o-h-1]

At 6:53 I was wondering why eventInterval was an unsigned long. Isn’t it a const with a value of 1000? Can’t it be a int?

[@alejandroperez5368]

You need to use the same type of variables when working with mills, so it needs to be an unsigned long. When doing some math with those variables, you need to use the UL suffix in the numbers (otherwise they are treated as integers and you get into trouble. Just check his first video about mills() to understand this.

[@ankushchauhan5752]

Thank you sir i really appreciate that....😎😎

[@karanparve1734]

wow its amazing...

[@programmingelectronics]

Thanks for watching!

[@horrorhotel46290]

How do you handle the overflow of the millis function ? Like this, code will run fine for 49 days and then stop working. You cannot be sure what exactly previoustime will be the last time the event occurs before overflow because of small inaccuracies that will sum up until the 49 days mark Somehow you need to know when to reset previous time without loosing information about the time lapsed since the last event This is a purely hypothetical example, but lets say ypu are building an arduino based pacemaker - you absolutely need to always reliably trigger a pulse at the same intervals, while sending some data like battery percentage etc to an external host or whatever How do you prevent the device from missing or falsely timing an event after 49 days?

[@howardhecht1783]

See forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=122413.0, in particular message #2 & #10 and also www.baldengineer.com/arduino-how-do-you-reset-millis.html

[@AlienRelics]

The fact that you are using unsigned long for currentTime, previousTime, and interval makes the subtraction wrap around and work correctly. No need to reset the millis() timer. if (currentMillis - previousMillis >= interval) { //when currentMillis wraps around and previousMillis subtracts, the //answer is likewise wrapped back around and the difference is correct previousMillis += interval; // does not accumulate timing errors

[@negrilamarius8977]

Helloo, if currentTime = "MAXIMUM of millis()" then next currentTime(or next value of millis() ) will be : Case 1 : or remaining to "MAXIMUM of millis()" or Case 2: next value will be 0.Which case do you think that will happened?. If Case 1: currentTime = "MAXIMUM of millis()" minus previousTime (which it will be olso "MAXIMUM of millis()") = 0 (so, the difference will be zero and all the time will not >= SetTime. IfCase 2: if millis after 49 days will be automatically 0 then difference 0 - "MAXIMUM of millis()" ('the last value of previusTime) will be negative , so, in this case it a must to use all the time ABS(currentTime-PreiousTime) >=SetTime. So which case it happening!? An alternative solution is to use a function to reset automatically arduino ( I tested this function: void(* resetFunction) (void)=0; and, after, in loop rutine call this function using: resetFunction(); if millis()>=4000000000UL ....resetFunctio() .. .This resetFunction is very fast.Write , as example, Serial.print(F("abc..")); after calling resetFunction(); and you will see that Serial.print(F("abc..")); will not happened because arduino it was reset be resetFunction(); OR, if someone cand wait ~ 49 days to see what happend with value of millis() function after this period , please let me know :)) .Maybe will happened one of both cases 1 or 2 ...or neither.

[@dezmach93]

Wow, you're the best!!! thanks!

[@umiturgutaswwsa]

What a great video.

[@programmingelectronics]

Thank you! I hope it helped!