Making Things Talk book and user experiences

I am not sure if this is even the right forum (arduino) for this question, but here goes!

I had been reading about the book Making things talk, and I decided to order it from Amazon.

When I got it, I could not put it down! It's mostly about the Arduino and clones, and the writing style is easy, and the technical issues seem well presented. I am also beginning to understand what Processing and Wiring is.

About 40 or so pages into the book, the author discusses using PHP on a web server, to interact with the Arduino. Now, the idea of using the web to control an Arduino is a fascinating idea!

Question 1:Is there a reader who would comment on his experience of actually getting this to work? I would like to hear details on the pc software, server software, getting web hosting, and the hardware issues in getting the Arduino to talk to the site. I was thinking about www.hostgator.com as the host.

Question 2: Does it seem like many of the projects, especially the wireless ones, are expensive? By expensive, I mean more than $50 ea.

If there is a site that discusses these issues, pls let me know.

Thanks in advance.
Steve.

Hello fellow reader,
I just started reading the same book myself. HOLY COW it's awesome!

As a web designer/developer, I want to expand my projects into the physical realm. I know almost NOTHING about the electronics or parts (other than playing with one of those hobby wire-to-spring boards as a kid), nor have ordered the hardware yet. I do know web related items, but have not gotten far enough into the book to really give helpful advise to you yet. I do however share your excitement!

I skipped over the PHP/Server part of the book. Initially I'm planning on using a test server at home. If you have an old computer sitting around, Ubuntu Linux has an auto web server install option when you boot from the DVD, quite handy for quick setups. You can quickly get a copy by going to a book store Linux magazine section seeking a "free" Ubuntu DVD (or you can spend hours downloading it for free). It may require more research though if you go that route as you need to set your internet modem to forward ports to your server, and do some other setup and understanding Linux stuff. I like this option because I can blow this stuff up and not make others mad. :slight_smile:

Not sure on cheap and ready SSH accessible hosting options at this time.

Briefly looking at sparkfun.com, it looks like most projects would go over $50 from what I can see, at least initially. Once you have some parts, it seems that you can take projects apart and build new ones, reusing parts.

Well I'm done with my mostly unhelpful rambling. Have fun! :smiley:

Ultrus,

Good to hear from you.

I read a bunch more from the book last night. You are right, this is a FANTASTIC book! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

With your grasp of networking software, at least that part of the book should be easier.

As I should have realized, this book appears to be mostly a networking introduction, with experiments drawn from hardware and software. The cutsey illustrations draws you into thinking this is an "easy" book, but it isn't.

I don't have the funds to do every experiment, so I will have to pick and choose which to do. At this point, the ethernet experiments seem most interesting, but that may change. I have a little better grasp of the need for web hosting, but your idea of using home Linux servers is a cheap alternative. Since I am already running Ubuntu, I may try this also, but in the long run, I want the connectivity that a hosted site would give me.

On another point, I think it is clear that Processing is a huge topic, and requires a lot more attention than the length of this book affords. Maybe there is a related book on Processing?

One thing I want to do is assemble a bill of goods showing the parts and costs for each of the exercises, the total cost of which I am sure would surprise many. This should not be a deterrent to buying the book, just a dose of reality. :o

Let's talk more later.
Steve.

In the exhibition, there's a thread about CGI forms and controlling it.
But me and Plastbox stole it and began discussing using PHP

http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1194936062

Thar ^^

It has all the basics, Arduino code, PHP Code, sample "Proxy" code(Written in VB)

The thread is somewhat of a mess, with all the code, but in a week or two, when my Arduino(Finally!) Arrives, I'll make a good copy writeup on the playground.

www.thegreendonkey.com/LEDToy

^^ My site(Down as of June 11, not sure when I'll be back up, at least a week, not living at home, and my friends ISP blocks web servers)

But yeah, if you have Visual Studio, know some PHP and Arduino language, you could quite easily modify this to facilitate your needs.

I have also modified(but not yet posted) the VB backend proxy with an Icon, and allowed it to be Sent to the Tray.

Enjoy.

Lilpunk,

I attempted to follow the thread, but I think I will wait for the exhibition. :slight_smile:

Thanks,
Steve.

Is there a way to "hide" wiki articles? I'd like to begin doing the writeup, but don;t want it to go public just yet.

EDIT:

Figured it out:

Another way to create a page: in your browser's address bar (where the page URL is), replace the name of the current page with the name of the page you wish to create, and hit Enter or do whatever you would normally do to go to a new location. PmWiki will then dutifully tell you that the page you entered doesn't exist, but you can click on the "Edit" link in order to create, edit, and save the new page.

The bad thing about this method is that there are no links to your new page, so you're the only person who knows it is there. It will be an orphan, unread, unlinked, unloved. That's why adding a link to an existing page or to the SideBar is a better way to create a page.

Edit 2:

Turns out you need special privs to create/edit a wiki page.

Guess I'll start writing in Word then :confused:

I created a playground acct, then I was in a position to change playground wiki text and save it.

Is that your understanding?

I created a playground acct, then I was in a position to change playground wiki text and save it.

Is that your understanding?

That WAS my understanding, generally, how a Wiki works is that Most pages are accessible for edit by anybody(at least those that signed up) With some key pages that need permission(Home page, key articles)

That's how wikipedia works, as do most other Wiki's, but here people talk about getting permissions.

Either way, I'm well off onto writing it.(In word)

the playground is open to anybody in the same way

if you're having problem with a specifica page please let us know your user id and the name of the page
we'll check what's going on

massimo

Hmm, maybe I was just being stupid :confused:

I just tried logging in/reregistering 5 times, and now it seems to work.

One big problem I see is no indication of logged in status.

Either way, it now works, so I'll get to writing.

Is there a way to upload images/ZIP files with VB source?

Or would I put those on my own server?

Hmm, maybe I was just being stupid :confused:

I just tried logging in/reregistering 5 times, and now it seems to work.

One big problem I see is no indication of logged in status.

Either way, it now works, so I'll get to writing.

Is there a way to upload images/ZIP files with VB source?

Or would I put those on my own server?

sometimes I forget to turn cookies back on, then wonder why I can't login! :-[