Getting Started with PlatformIO

[@Dronebotworkshop]

Thanks for the great response to the video, and I must apologize for the bad link that I put in the description for the article! It has now been corrected, sorry about that! I also have a post where you can discuss this video in detail on the DroneBot Workshop Forums, you'll find that link in the description as well. And I promise this one works! BTW, I'm planning on another PlatformIO video soon, to answer some of the things I left out here. So please subscribe if you haven't already so that you get notified when it is released.

[@edwardaudet8367]

Thank you , the video was excellent. I learned something new. And i can't wait to get this going for my arduino projects.

[@certified-forklifter]

This video was very clear and helpful! Thank you so much! :D

[@passenger000]

it would be nice to see some processing/java serial plotters in new video

[@Meennnoo]

Thank you for this clear tutorial! This must have taken some time to put together. Two things I would like to know of PlatformIO: 1) How to organise lengthy code files, in the Arduino IDE I used tabs for that but I don't see that option here. 2) Perhaps you could elaborate on how to set up OTA programming in this environment. Thanks again for this video! Oh, and is there an equivalent of auto format (ctrl+T) in PlatformIO?

[@passenger000]

by the way I have one serial plotter app for windows, which utilizes just default print command in code and supports few graphs on one plot

[@larrytubbs]

I've been a software engineer for 20+ years. Platform IO is so much more comfortable for me than the Arduino IDE. VS Code is my second home. Thanks for the great introduction.

[@reedreamer9518]

Running PlatformIO in VS Code is NOT suitable for large applications. It cannot handle multiple files and it restricts you to ordering your functions before they are called, which is only a sign of a primitive compiler - and does NOT make your code any "better". PlatformIO has some useful features compared to the Arduino IDE, but overall the Arduino IDE would be more suitable for developing larger (multi-file) applications. Because of the restrictions, PlatformIO is really only suitable for simple sketches. If you want the best of all worlds with no restrictions, use Visual Studio Community or Atmel Studio with the Visual Micro plug-in. I've tested all the above and this is definitely the way to go. Visual Micro totally blows PlatformIO away!

[@GonePh1shing]

@@reedreamer9518 This simply isn't true. PlatformIO works just fine with multi-file projects, it just doesn't do all the automation that the Arduino IDE does. You have to treat the project like you would any other C++ project with forward declarations, header files, header guards, etc. Visual Micro is really good from what I have seen, but there's no need to fork out $100 for it when PlatformIO is FOSS and does what most people need it to.

[@maxpower6542]

@@reedreamer9518 Nonfactual. Use forward declarations.

[@gautombose4172]

@@reedreamer9518 Visual Micro is not Free.

[@rjinnh3933]

WHOW! Simply Whow..... 51+ minutes of pure instruction that's probably going to save 51 hours of frustrated head banging on the work bench. A great intro to PlatformIO from instillation to practical use. Very inspirational. Hat Tip to you Sir.....

[@DesertVox]

It's CRAYZEE that such detailed and organized tutorials are available for free. Thank God for the internets.

[@Friendroid]

@@mitch_the_-itch have you been checked for lead poisoning lately?

[@khalidmaulana9838]

@@mitch_the_-itch danke

[@shaunmorrissey7313]

Mitchel R******** and is there a down side?

[@Friendroid]

@@mitch_the_-itch I didnt say it was free, I dont live in a binary world.

[@thearchibaldtuttle]

@@mitch_the_-itch don‘t forget your tinfoil hat 👒

[@guyprovost]

I'm a VS veteran, been using the platform in it's different iteration over the years and tend to forget how awesome it actually is compared to more basic IDE. You did an awesome job of showing the capabilities of VS Code and overall, your videos are so well done with the correct amount of information. You sir are a very good teacher! Thanks for the content!

[@gautombose4172]

It is time to show a Pico Debug with PlatformIo IDE

[@timobreumelhof88]

I'm getting back into electronics after about 20 years and I love your videos!

[@willlockler9433]

Same situation!

[@FranekFunFacts]

Same too !

[@ShadowCruize]

this is insane timing , i have been very recently researching moving to specifically platformio on vs code and i had some issues with it, and this video comes out a few days later and clears everything up.

[@raagamparmar179]

Yup me too.....😁

[@briandavis7033]

Same

[@droidebuilder486]

same

[@larrysmall3521]

Thank You! I am a retired embedded systems engineer. I use the Arduino for simple home projects and I have always thought the Arduino IDE was too basic. Platform IO is exactly what I was looking for. I did not want to try and setup Eclipse for Arduino and this is perfect for my needs. One suggestion, instead of moving the function ahead of setup() in the blink example it would have been the perfect time to explain function prototypes and how they are required for C and C++.

[@elonyao3894]

I met the xxx was not declared in the very first day using PIO for Arduino, that frustrated me for a half day until I wrote a header file.🤣

[@33_njindo72]

Hey @larrysmall3521 as an embedded engineer could you explain your line of work...... I'm a student looking to major in embedded systems and electronics

[@viktorkoryavyy]

I'm very impressed!!! This is the best intro I've seen for using Platformio (product developed in Ukraine)!!! Now I try to create small inexpensive setup for fridge and electricity availability monitoring (for my close relatives) in Ukraine based on ESP32. It's really help me!

[@michelpoisson3500]

You are like wine, You are always getting better and better...And I have to mention that you started from VeryGood!! Congratulations!!

[@wb7ond]

I dove into the VScode and downloaded PIO. Blindly started an Arduino project, got it to work, then tried to get a new project. I got lost in the "woods" of C++ and VScode. Your vid helped me understand that my Arduino projects were managed thru the PIO and not in the VScode itself.. Thanks a million for this video. I tried to figure out how to make a new project, but was searching for the wrong thing... Your video made me realize I had exited the PIO environment and was wandering around in the VScode C++, where there are no "new project" selections... Thanks again...

[@92mrkite]

Clear, concise, extremely well documented: a paradigm of a perfect tutorial. I’m an Arduino newbie, now fully convinced to leave Arduino IDE for PlatformIO. Motivation reloaded!

[@VelocityTheory]

I e never seen PlatformIo or anything about Arduino before and DBW made me feel like I understand it. This is a sign of a great teacher. Thank you DBW.

[@romanalaivi6967]

I would like thank you for a series of impossibly thorough videos on working with with the various embedded systems available to hobbyists like me. You've communicated every single concept so clearly and so well in every video I almost feel like this is too good to be true. Your channel is a treasure, literally. How so many informative videos can be packaged up like this for free is amazing. This is a better education than I've ever come across in my old comp sci classes at college. A sincere thank you. You're teaching a generation of kids out there how to do some really cool things.

[@jeffro.]

He's not just teaching kids! I'm 67, and I learn a lot of stuff from this channel! And I've been doing embedded development and other electronics for decades. People think I'm smart, this guy is really talented!

[@nicksterspad]

I accidentally clicked this video scrolling and had to finish something on another tab before I clicked off it but before I knew it, the whole video was over, I picked up some things I've been wondering about, and it helped me fix the sketchbook I have open on on the second monitor. Great work!

[@AdhavR7]

Very Clear and full of substance in all his videos. Very Nice.

[@hennero.3826]

Thanks very much for this video. I have been working in IT for many years, but I have just started with Microcontroller programming only 1..2 weeks ago, so I really appreciate that you explained VSCode and PlatformIO so well, even showing the installation on 3 operating systems. This has motivated me today to install both on my Linux laptop - and it works! 😃 On Linux, I now need to pay attention to the access right for the port (which I didn't need to worry about under Windows), and apparently the "chown " needs to be done after each restart (or reconnect), but I am using OTA anyway now most of the time ...

[@TYGAMatt]

Why someone wouldn't subscribe to your channel is beyond comprehension. Probably the clearest explanations on you tube. I toyed with platform io a while back but ended up sticking with the Arduino IDE. But thanks to you I'll take a fresh look. Thanks Bill.

[@WillBelden]

Not even hardly into the video yet and I simply love how organized the shop is!

[@passenger000]

I switched to Visual Studio Code and actively use PlatformIO for past month to finish my project at work. Very helpful video Bill! thank you

[@51zodiac]

Just started out with PlatformIO today, sat down and did the whole tutorial, downloaded the exercises, everything was really clear. Thank you so much for an excellent video!

[@GeekRedux]

It's common practice to not make the code too "front heavy" by putting all the function definitions after setup and loop like you had it before, but _duplicate just the first line_ of the function definition (e.g., write just "int sample_function(int var1) ; " ) before setup and loop. This line is called a function prototype and it's there to make the compiler aware the function exists so it doesn't throw the error you see but still makes for arguably more readable code. Not making these prototype declarations necessary is some of the hand-wavy stuff the Arduino IDE does to make coding more accessible for beginners, but that can also lead to moments of confusion/difficulty when people move beyond it. I continue to be impressed by the clarity and high production quality of your tutorial videos--thanks for helping the community like this!

[@browland601]

Thank you, just got my first esp32 project going from scratch on platform io with no issues by following this tutorial!

[@VinceBusch]

You're the man! Just migrated to PlatformIO, ran into issues with the terminal, watched your video, solved. Many thanks, again!!

[@dwhughes1975]

I love this. I love you. I'm a competent-ish computer geek in other spheres, but I'm a beginner at both embedded programming and VS, and I've been making progress but a lot of the material has left me stuck in the middle thinking, "WTF, what did I miss?". It feels like striking gold when you find a teacher who knows all their stuff but can still put themselves in a newbie's shoes to make sure all the basics are covered in detail. And the result is that where I was starting to despair of the Arduino IDE and fall backwards to arduino-cli, now I've jumped forwards again to a much more capable and supportive environment. Which feels amazing. :) Thank you sensei for the sense of empowerment and potential!

[@danialothman]

thank you so much, I cannot believe it took me this long to use PlatformIO!

[@HappyHermitt]

You're channel is one if the best in the subject. Thank you for your dedication and work.

[@michaelmcnaughton1535]

Your videos are absolutely top notch. I watch about 10 or so different you tube presenters who really put it all out there (Andreas Spiess is another standout) and your work is so excellent. Thanks for being there.

[@GonePh1shing]

Great video! Pro C++ tip: For cleaner code, you can split function declarations and definitions. This allows you to have the first proper block of code be your main function/loop, whilst still allowing you to write and call functions separate from your main function. To do this, just declare the function before your main like this: void myFunction(); Then, write your main function, and define your extra function below the same as you did in the Arduino IDE.

[@_ahmedwalid_]

Yes, It's called a function prototype

[@gautombose4172]

@@_ahmedwalid_ Show a Video with a proper demonstration

[@chrisengland5523]

Function declarations work really well. I've always thought that having a load of functions at the top of the code is a real pain because it can take ages to find where the actual main program starts and as often as not the actual functions are low level trivia that just get in the way. Bill says that having to declare all functions before you use them encourages people to write good code. I disagree - who cares where the functions are defined as long as they are defined? Putting them at the end makes the resultant code a lot clearer and easier to read. Also, I've found that the Arduino IDE sometimes allows you to put them at the end but sometimes it doesn't. Function prototypes solve this problem, but ideally they shouldn't be necessary. The same goes for variables - they have to be declared before you use them. Why (as long as they're in scope)? I worked for many years writing in assembler and liked the ability to declare variables where it was convenient for me. The only advantage that I can see obtained by having to declare functions and variables BEFORE using them is that it saves a compiler pass and hence a few milliseconds. That's hardly an overriding reason with modern high speed processors. However, despite the above comments, don't let this distract from the fact that this is yet another superb video from the master presenter.

[@rene-jeanmercier6517]

Hi, Thank you for This Excelllent excellent tutorial. I thing though I want to mention, is that it is NOT an obligation to put the functions in front of the loop(). You simply need to "declare" the "prototype" of your function so that the compiler is made aware of the function and can double check the integrity / match of the parameter's types declared. Thank you again for an excellent tutorial. RJM

[@slinco65]

For those that maybe don't know what @René-Jean just said: Simply add the function declaraion line `void blink_led(int LED, int delaytime)` above the loop() - no need to move the whole function.

[@omshree901]

@@slinco65 thank you

[@zapphoddbubbahbrox5681]

Thanks for the videos! You seem to be the only person out there doing these in-depth tutorials on these topics. Regarding Function ordering vs. IDE - this is actually C++ being a more strict language : the compiler won't reorder for you. Reordering is an option, however more complex code may force you to declare your function ( before being fully defined) at the top of your oode as a stub. This has the added benefit providing more robust documentation for other people who might maintain your cod , if you find yourself in that type of environment.

[@jeffro.]

Or even if I'm the one to go back and edit the code sometime in the future, after working on other projects! Yep, good documentation of code is essential!

[@SpeccyMan]

Function prototypes have been a feature of C/C++ from the outset. The Arduino IDE's obfuscation isn't a good thing at all and teaches bad programming habits.

[@NLGeebee]

“Welcome to the Workshop” My favorite sentence, right after “I love you” and “Happy birthday” :)

[@nateamus3920]

Lolol!

[@casemodder89]

Yep goes down just as creamy like "hello everyone and welcome" by jason fenske (EE) 😎

[@neilbarnett3046]

You must have lived a sheltered life so far. ;-)

[@YoutubeBorkedMyOldHandle_why]

Thank you Bill. There's nothing here that I haven't come across before, but you've put it all in one video and covered everything it in brilliant detail. So, I'm going to fine tune my setup, while re-watching your video ... in case I might have missed something.

[@t1d100]

Wow! Just used your webpage link to get through the download/install process. The only way you could have made this easier is if you came to my house and you put it on my laptop for me, while I watched and drank a soda and ate potato chips... LOL!!! Amazingly thorough, well written/professional and soooo graciously shared freely = thank you so much!

[@tenocipri2566]

Thanks for the informative workshops. I am a longtime hardware engineer who did a lot of C and C++ work in the late 90s up to about 5 years ago and, as you can imagine I'm am quite rusty. As a nubi to Arduino there are a number of issues I ran into but your videos usually got me through them. Whenever someone had a video that used PlatformIO the screen was so cluttered it became overwhelming. Throughout my history of writing code, setting up the IDE was what made or broke my sucess at it. As you mentioned in the video, the Arduino IDE is very simple to use, and a great way to get familiar with hardware and software development. After a few weeks I've been able to get a lot done in it and ready to move on to PlatformIO. Your video is very clear and easy to follow along with. Great job.

[@insanebullet]

Your teaching style and video production is top notch!! I've been learning so much watching countless tutorials of yours.

[@Dronebotworkshop]

Thank you Robert, so glad you have benefitted from my work.

[@rahalhettiarachchi8967]

Thank you! The way you explain stuff makes it really easy to understand the content🙌

[@jim5148]

Thanks for a very nice, coherent presentation of PlatformIO.

[@guy-francknakach488]

Brilliant tutorial, clear and uncomplicated with just the right level of details. Clearly well prepared and delivered. Many thanks!

[@jimstarwood]

This is now the 30th+ of your YT videos I've been binge -watching. You do a great job of teaching. Subscribed.

[@peppyzacat5179]

You, Sir, are a treasure to the mankind! Thank you for taking the time to educate others in such a clear and simple manner!

[@queenidog1]

This was one of the best How-To videos I've ever seen. Very clear and concise. I had tried to install PlatformIO a number of times but kept getting bogged down with dependencies. It was like Linux all over again... but this video really made it clear how to get it going from an Arduino perspective. I got it going, put in an Arduino program and got couple errors. One library (from GitHub) was NOT found and I had to add it manually...some hassle. I was able to build but now can't upload, says nothing at COM1 where my boot loader gizmo is located. (I use it to program an Atmega 328P MCU, using the program port.) Works perfectly well in Arduino, but not in PIO. Again. I haven't got time to keep doing these little fixes. I had a Corolla IDE, wanted a Mustang, got a Ferrari. Well Mr. Ferrari I will be delisting you.

[@jacobgellinger]

Thank you for breaking this down so simple. Been tearing my hair out trying to figure this stuff out and you have a great ability to relay this info into a way i can understand.

[@justyx846]

Thank you very much. This video gave me the confidence to select this IDE for my new hobby. Writing code wasn't my issue, picking the right IDE for a new (to me) device from the start was.

[@Helli__]

I really like your very detailed tutorials. You're not too fast and it's still easy to follow, even for me, who doesn't speak English as a first language.

[@harrykunte1021]

Although I have been using PlatformIO for some time, I still found this video very educational. I am already looking forward to the sequels. Thank you and many greetings from the Black Forest in Germany.

[@JonathanDeWitt1988]

After your other video introducing the XIAO it is exciting to see more videos on it. Thank you for putting this up Bill.

[@Burborted]

Haven't seen anything better so far. I'm deeply impressed and I can't suggest anything to make it better. Thanks you sir.

[@StudentoftheUniverse-f7z]

Very nice presentation. Your pace, volume, and editing are first-class, as is the material. Thanks for the education.

[@maroneda1063]

Hello there, from Ubuntu 22.04.1LTS here! Hi my fellow Ubuntu user, Linux user in general😉 Thanks for this!

[@Steven_Bennett_YT]

Fantastic clarity and more professional than one might expect from an organisation like the BBC! One minor point, after installing platformIO the Atmel AVR platform must be manually installed, it is not there automatically. More videos on PIO please.

[@Steven_Bennett_YT]

Actually the relevant platform is installed automatically once the first project is created.

[@thebloody_blue]

You've made videos almost everything i want to know. Thank you so much. It's absolutely wonderful. Clear and detailed explanations. I really like the videos and you 😊.

[@aloysiussnailchaser272]

Very useful, thanks. I’ve just started using PlatformIO. Perfect timing.

[@markharrisllb]

I installed python3 for the first time through Visual Studio and I still had to do the same command line in the Terminal as you did using Snap. Please bear in mind I haven’t a clue what I’m doing, hence my massive gratitude to yourself and Paul McWhorter.

[@stevetobias4890]

You're the duck's nuts for resources. You're website is well put together. Thank you.

[@jamess1787]

Glad to see you back!

[@ChrisBalmforth]

I just discovered this video, and through it your KZbin channel and web site. Fantastic! I'm just getting to grips with PlatformIO and VSC, and this video cleared up some problems I was having. Keep up the great work!

[@mike_van_in]

Wow Bill - this is a fantastic video! Well done - and many thanks!

[@totem1997]

Thanks for making this video. You make many people life easier. Just migrate all my dev tool to Visual Code Studio and have everything centralize on one editor. You are one of my top guy who always solves of my problem. Thank you so much. ;-)

[@valizeth4073]

You dont need to define your functions before using them, you need to declare them before using them. The linker will take care of the definition, but the compiler still needs a forward declaration to be able to generate the translation unit. It's not an IDE specific thing but a C++ specific thing.

[@gautombose4172]

It is time for some one to publish a video showing, function declarations, function definitions in several different files.

[@jeffro.]

Vali Zeth: Yeah, it's those declarations where I always screw up! Thanks for explaining the difference between them and "definitions." I think maybe I wasn't clear on that distinction. At least, I think that's my problem! (Sometimes, in complex code, I can't figure out why it won't compile. The logic is all correct, but I have problems with functions not being declared. I guess I just forget.)

[@curtisibarra1600]

Bill, I want to thank you for such a well crafted instructional video. You really bring it home in an understandable and clear way… Respectfully: Curtis

[@burnermaster5375]

Thank you so much for this excellent tutorial. You solved the problem I had with including additional libraries on my project. Nobody goes over this crucial task, they only demonstrate the LED blink project with the built in libraries.

[@madlogik]

Thanks Bill! You (once again) clarified a lot of things for me. I had dug in platform.io already ... but the way you set the stage makes it clear and more concise (vs studio code can be hard to grasp!!)

[@danieloliveira9815]

Once you get it, vscode becomes your loyal best friend

[@jackdaniels8898]

Excellent primer for Platform IO. Thank you very much.

[@juankmilisimo]

Cada video esta tan bien producido, tan detallado, tan impecable, que uno se queda con la boca abierta. Gracias Bill

[@melvinbullock5674]

Thanks Bill! As usual, concise and informative. I see the reasoning behind the changes, bring on more DB1! Best regards from the UK.

[@benemwatsena]

I've been watching a lot of your videos, you're awesome👌👌👌

[@karllaun2427]

Thanks so much for making this video. I installed VBC and PlatformIO about a year ago, but really struggled to understand the usage and functions. Lately, I've been picking out bits and pieces from other KZbin videos, but this one really ties everything together and makes sense out of some items I was having issues with. I look forward to more content on this subject. Well done!

[@duncancampbell9742]

Thanks for this ... loving PlatformIO after installing it based on this video. I've been using Arduino IDE since getting my 1st Arduino (Elegoo Mega2560) about a month ago, and today received an Elegoo Nano. Took a while to get the COM Port working, but all good now. PlatformIO is delivering the IDE environment I'm used to from years ago when c/c++ programming.

[@ontropia]

Fantastic instruction video! Clear, well organized, with attention to details, Just perfect!

[@frank.moerman]

Thanks a lot for ALL your tutorials! Very helpful.

[@Streetdirt]

Thank you for this great tutorial. PlatformIO is just what I was looking for and I got it work easily thanks to your instructions. You are an excellent teacher.

[@headbanger1428]

Great job Bill! Very comprehensive! I actually feel confident using it now.

[@hughmulgrew6966]

Yet another excellent presentation. Compelling, inciteful, informative and entertaining - what more can I ask for.

[@dcpowered]

This is extremely useful given the many limitations of the Arduino IDE. Thank you!!

[@kingoftheworld67]

Oh, thank you for this video, this is so much faster and simplest than Arduino IDE, i spent too much time with him - a hundred opened windows and difficult navigation.

[@ThumpinV]

Great video! You are a fantastic teacher. Very thorough and methodical

[@peter.stimpel]

Man, if I had known this 2 weeks ago you are doing this video. I was struggling with some parts of my VSC/PLatformIO installation, and it took me some good time to duckduckgo the details. Well done. What I like most is that in VSC/PlatformIO the board settings are part of the project. Great, if you work with different boards in the same IDE

[@natrajkamboj]

You are such a good/great teacher I hv seen very few like you. This is pure gold tutorial ! thanks so much...

[@houtmann774]

Thanks for your time and effort in producing truly high quality tutorials. Much appreciated. 👍👍👍

[@sunpeter8260]

That is another superb tutorial! Thank you for the time and efforts you spent on these!

[@peterdlynes]

Thank you for a very nice introduction to moving over to platformio.

[@BryanByTheSea]

Excellent video, struggled with VS Code IDE trying to figure it out, your video put it all together. Thumbs up.

[@kresimircoric2503]

Excellent video as always. I have recommend your previous videos to my pupils in Secondary Technical School.

[@klave8511]

Wow, what a great tutorial, I followed from a fresh install with the only minor issues being the drivers for my boards. I even got my Digispark ATtiny85 board running without a hitch. Thank you very much, great details.

[@richard_wenner]

Superlative presentation in every aspect. Thanks.

[@OcenaSoft]

Oh My! Just when I thought things could not get any better - you come up with another amazing tutorial. Amazing, with a night off tomorrow - I will be installing on my Linux Mint work station and let you know how it goes. Please keep up this amazing work...

[@mikesearle7077]

Yet another brilliant video! You explain things clearly and simply with an exceptional attention to detail. Thank you for introducing this topic, as a retired programmer I’m much more comfortable using VS so this will really reinvigorate my interest in this type of project. Thank you.

[@DinoFancellu]

If you want to use the same code, but target multiple boards, you can add extra environments to the project, and flip between them.

[@droidebuilder486]

how exactly? Link to Post or Video would be enough :)

[@DinoFancellu]

@@droidebuilder486 docs.platformio.org/en/latest/projectconf/section_env.html PIO projects tab, click configure on your project, click +configuration

[@rudolfst]

Thanks, Great video, it helped me a lot in getting started in PlatformIO. Rudolf from the Netherlands

[@JoseFernandez-yz1sf]

As usual here in DroneBot Workshop, this has been an excellent tutorial on PlatformIO, thanks a lot. I'm thinking to switch to this VS Code/platformIO IDE for my embedded projects.

[@englishrupe01]

Fantastic intro to PlatformIo! Thank you!

[@vincent.borreux]

Thanks a lot for this introduction to PlatformIO. Thanks also for this "complex" sample! Really like this video and look forward to watching next ones...

[@flyingfarm1]

Wow, great, love this level of detail. For someone with no experience with any IDE, other than Arduino, this is excellent. Just subscribed.

[@vfinch8483]

Great tutorial! The presentation is top notch, video quality is great and content is clear and well presented.

[@pjwlk]

Excellent video! Thanks from Canada!

[@naidol]

Excellent tutorial. It simplifies the transition from Arduino IDE to platformIO. Really informative. Thanks

[@Rendon276]

Thanks for spelling it all out so concisely.

[@SapperUSMC1371]

Good to see you Bill. I hope you are doing well.

[@ricardoalexandreguedes4095]

Thank you for all the explanation, very easy to follow.