I'm new to microcontrollers - and maybe this isn't the ideal forum to post this question in, but I'm curious about the differences between Teensy and Arduino. It seems like Teensy outperforms the Arduino across the board - but I still see many projects that call for them to be used in tandem.
It seems that Teensy doesn't have it's own IDE and many people use Arduino's environment. It also seems that Teensy doesn't have the same forum support as Arduino, so people come here to ask Teensy questions.
I'm confused about all of this and hoping someone can help explain the distinctions to me.
humament:
I still see many projects that call for them to be used in tandem.
I've never once seen that in 7 years of working with Arduino. Maybe you could post an example of one of these projects so we could take a look and tell you whether the use of both was sensible and, if so, why.
humament:
It seems that Teensy doesn't have it's own IDE and many people use Arduino's environment.
There is a modified version of the Arduino IDE called Teensyduino that you need to use for the Teensy. Teensyduino will also work with any non-Teensy board just like the Arduino IDE would (there are really only some fairly minor changes made to turn the Arduino IDE into Teensyduino). The creator of Teensy, Paul Stoffregen, is really good about getting new releases of Teensyduino out to match releases of the Arduino IDE so you won't get stuck using old software.
humament:
It also seems that Teensy doesn't have the same forum support as Arduino
Teensy has its own forum: https://forum.pjrc.com/forum.php?s=b250f5d63ab13f63d44810005fa99196
where some extremely smart people (even including Paul Stoffregen) are very active about providing support. I do notice that the topics on that forum tend to be much more advanced than the average topic we see on this forum, but that's not to say that only advanced topics are allowed. I think it's just that the sort of people who buy Teensy tend to be the advanced users.
humament:
so people come here to ask Teensy questions.
I've actually found this to be quite rare. Usually when we discuss Teensy here it's when someone is asking for a recommendation for a board for a specific project and the standard Arduino boards don't happen to be very suitable for that project for whatever reason.
humament:
I'm confused about all of this and hoping someone can help explain the distinctions to me.
I'm all for the Teensy boards but I do still think a beginner is best to start with an Arduino Nano (or an Arduino Uno if you need to use shields). It's true that these boards are inferior to the Teensy boards by most performance metrics. However, performance is not really important to a beginner. These seemingly inferior AVR boards are still amazingly capable and have been used to do some incredible things. What's important to a beginner is a gentle learning curve and the AVR boards are the best choice for this. They have been used the longest by the Arduino community so there is a ton of information, libraries, example sketches, and people who can answer any of your questions. Teensy does a good job of all that, but it still doesn't manage to surpass the AVR boards. The 8 bit AVR microcontrollers are also relatively simple so it's much easier to gradually gain a thorough understanding of how the microcontroller works at a low level, even though you will likely mostly use the higher level interface Arduino provides. That understanding will provide a good basis to work from if you later decide you want to move on to the more complex microcontrollers.
Pert provided a great high level overview of the differences.
But, one of the things many times ignored about the Teensy product line is that Paul still builds AVR processor based boards. Known as Teensy 2.0 and Teensy++ 2.0, the boards have the same performance as the common AVR Arduinos and the 2.0 is quite similar to the Pro Micro. The ++ version has 128k of flash, 8k of ram and 46 I/O, placing it between the Uno/Nano products and the Mega boards in terms of memory and I/O. They meet needs of many users and they continue to do so when a 16MHz processor can do the job.
An important note about these older products is that if you see either of the two Teensy 2.0 AVR boards advertised by Chinese sellers on eBay, Aliexpress, Taobao and even some on Amazon, they are counterfeit. Stick to the Official Distributors and you’re fine. Due to the custom bootloader chip on the 3/4 series devices, they’ve never been counterfeited so no worries there.
One important difference between the higher performance Teensy 3 series and the new 4.0 is that these devices are all 3.3 volt only when compared to the AVR processors which are typically 5 volt based but can be run at 3.3 volts at lower clock speeds.
The Teensy 3.2 and 3.5 are unique in that while they are 3.3 volt devices, their digital I/O pins can withstand 5 volt inputs.
While it’s unlikely you have the need for speed when just getting started with micro controllers, the specs of the new Teensy 4.0 are absolutely stunning, especially so when considering the $20 price point. Nothing else is even close.
The creator of Teensy, Paul Stoffregen, is really good about getting new releases of Teensyduino out to match releases of the Arduino IDE so you won't get stuck using old software.
It's worth pointing out that Paul has also made very significant contributions to the software used on actual Arduino boards, both in the "core" code that runs on the boards, and in the IDE itself.
Arduino originally started out as a project to make microcontroller programming more accessible to non-CS/EE types. You can read a rather one-sided account of the early history that led to Arduino.
As an open-source project, there are several varieties of "related" products:
Official Arduino hardware and software.
Clones - vendors take the exact Arduino designs and sell them as compatibles. They use the normal Arduino IDE and run identical code. This is "fine" as long as they don't infringe on the Arduino trademarks. It is "good" in that it provides access to Arduino hardware where it might otherwise be unavailable.
Close Derivatives - boards that are "almost" like the official Arduino designs, but are "enhanced" in useful ways (sometimes just cost reduction, but also extra (or missing) connectors, different USB connectivity, different form factors, etc. The Adafruit Feather 328p, and the Teensy 2 are examples, as are the numerous "Nano clones" from China (most of which are no longer clones, since they've gone to different USB chips.) Frequently, some changes are also needed for the software to support the extra capabilities.
Significantly Enhanced Derivatives - boards that still use some form or modification of the Arduino IDE and APIs, but are substantially different. The Teensy 3.x (and now 4) boards are good examples, as are the "Chipkit" boards based on PIC32 chips, and the various TI "Launchpad" boards supported by "Energia" (MSP430 and TI ARM chips), and the Leaflabs Maple (STM32) These used to pretty much require a "fork" of the Arduino IDE, but in "recent" years, the IDE was extended to make it much easier to add even substantially different platforms...