My Idea or my question might sound a bit silly, but is there any kind of lightweight operating system that let's you "execute" arduino code on normal pc hardware and let's you make advantages of wifi and the other cool stuff a pc can do? I know that arduino code gets compiled to a binary for the arduino processor but I am thinking more of like the machine interpreting it rather than executing the compiled code. If you know that something like that exists let me know.
Have you looked into programming on you PC using available C and C++ compilers.
I use Code::Blocks to compile and run C or C++ programs on a PC, but of course you can't do things like digitalRead() or analogWrite(), etc.
Yes I thought about c and c++ but I wanted to be able to like run it without installing a full os and using a .ino compatibility.
Good luck with that!
The thing that makes the Arduino super-cool is the integration of the hardware and the development system, the bootloader, and that the hardware development system is the Arduino itself.
Normally, if you want to build something with a "random processor" you need a hardware development board, development software, and a programmer (hardware) to load the software. There is more expense (you need extra development & programming hardware and in some cases the software development kit may not be free), a longer learning curve and more difficult construction.
If you deviate too much, you no longer have an "Arduino" and you lose all of the advantages!
(The Raspberry Pi takes it a step further with a complete single board computer with an operating system and "computer like" I/O so you can plug-in a keyboard, display, and hard drive, etc., so you can jump-in and program).
There MAY be code to "simulate" an Arduino. But that's going to run under Windows or one of the other two popular operating systems.
There C++ compilers that allow you to write stand-alone code for ANY particular processor chip (code that can run without an operating system). It's also common to program stand-alone processors in Assembly language. But, you'd need some kind of development system and a way to load the software. (You MIGHT be able to load it with the existing BIOS.)
The Wi-Fi adapter in a computer needs a driver (to communicate with it's firmware). The existing drivers are made to work with Windows, OSX, or Linux. Writing a driver is advanced programming and the hardware manufacturer may not even publish the information you'd need. Usually the driver is developed by the hardware manufacturer (because they know exactly how their hardware works, and how a driver interfaces with the operating system is published information so they know "both sides" of the driver requirements.)
Most of the "cools stuff" a computer can do is because of the operating system. The operating system (along with the BIOS and drivers) allows an application to communicate with the display, keyboard, mouse, printer, hard, drive, memory, etc., in a standardized way. You can add an LCD display to the Arduino, but you have to use a library to communicate with it, or you have to know the nitty-gritty details of how it works. You can write a Windows program and it will work with any standard computer monitor.
There is a "simplified" operating system called MINIX. It was created so computer science students can learn to write an operating system. (Linux is millions of lines of code so although it was originally written by one programmer it's way to big for that today.)
Apparently, there is Android for X86 (and maybe other intel variations).
Most of the "cool" stuff you want are only available on current PCs, not the old ones.
I understand what you mean, but I was more thinking of an compatibility layer, maybe my words weren't quite understandable but like you program an arduino sketch compile it and the "os" I am talking about has all the core drivers to communicate between the arduino libraries and the hardware. So in this case a computer would be like a custom board in the arduino IDE.
What would this "OS" have to sell for to makee development worthwhile? You do understand that Windows costs several hundred $ for each copy/PC you purchase.
I don't think it would be a commercial product more like an OpenSource community driven os.
As pointed out previously, most of the device drivers and all of the Windows code is proprietary, far from open source. The Windows you use today has developed over a 50 year time span and much came from companies that Microsoft purchased. Even open source was developed at someone's time and that is worth something.
there are some very small versions of linux that will load on very old PCs and provide a basic environment to run user programs.
For example, Tom's RT BT fits on a single floppy. I guess "single floppy" is not so interesting any more. But there are assorted other "small linux distributions" that are probably the best answer to your question - they include networking and programming languages, without all the bells and whistles that make them contenders for "Windows replacements for the masses."
See also Smallest Linux Distributions
Raspbian x86 OS runs well on old PC's like a HP Netbook. Just be sure to use the non-free which includes proprietary blobs for non-open source hardware; like Broadcom.
How to install Raspberry Pi's Raspbian OS on a PC | TechRepublic
As ArduinoIDE is supported on Raspberry Pi, it will run well. There is a WebBrowser too, so Wonki is an option.
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