I'm fairly new to Arduino, let alone the IoT side of things But I wanted to try it out, so I needed some good starting guides/YouTube videos anyone can suggest.
A few little questions I have are
Is esp8266 like a set of instructions for IoT platforms?
Is esp01s a module or a standalone device (or both) and if it's a standalone device then how do I use it with my uno?
Is NodeMCU just an Arduino with WiFi or are there any differences I should know in their programming or their processing power?
What kind of programming do I need to know for getting into the internet side of things, or is the "blynk" app is an easy alternative to it altogether?
I did try to google these things but am still very confused about them
Any other starting tips would be appreciated too!!
both. It can be used to provide comms and intelligence to a sensor, or add some sane WiFi to an Arduino that has none.
NodeMCU is an excellent place to start. It is cheaper, faster,and has more memory. It speaks much the same language. The ESP 32 dev board by Heltec is also worth a look.
The essential programming comes from the IoT service provider.
Yes. The bulk of the programming is down to you but there will be a few vital lines on how the data is wrapped up and sent in a manner that they can receive. They are sure to have an example of this.
This might help https://learn.adafruit.com/category/adafruit-io
I have not actually used it!
WeMOS D1 Mini is essentially a smaller version of the NodeMCU, also a bit cheaper.
Hey, don't buy one, buy a few on eBay or Ali.
WeMOS and NodeMCU are basically the same, mounting the ESP-12 module on a base which makes it easy to connect, power and program.
The ESP-01 is the bare module with limited (four) I/O available. You need support modules to power, program and interface it. But for a specific application where four I/O will do, it is excellent!
Is esp8266 like a set of instructions for IoT platforms?
Yes and no. Some people have used the ESP-01 as a WiFi port on the Uno, but that seems to me to be doing it the hard way. On purpose. I use the ESP-01 for small IOT projects, but it needs 3.3V which complicates an otherwise simple circuit.
Is esp01s a module or a standalone device (or both) and if it's a standalone device then how do I use it with my uno?
Yes and no. The ESP01 is a module that contains an ESP8266 processor chip, WiFi and 4Mb of RAM.
Is NodeMCU just an Arduino with WiFi or are there any differences I should know in their programming or their processing power?
No. The ESP is programmable on the Arduino IDE. Most of the code you write will work on either, and where it won't, like trying to use an analog input on the ESP-01, the IDE will give a compile error.
What kind of programming do I need to know for getting into the internet side of things, or is the "blynk" app is an easy alternative to it altogether?
This is an ambiguous question. I assume that you mean web control? Blynk is OK, but I don't personally use it. There is a web server library for the ESP family that many people here use.
There are several boards that use the ESP8266 chip. My current favorite is the Wemos D1 Mini. The NodeMCU is another viable option. Some like the ESP32- I've never used it but it adds BlueTooth.
How to learn:
Buy a few of the ESP boards and experiment with the example programs that come with the ESP8266 library.
