Hello everyone, My name is Lin (male) I am a total newbie to this venture and I’m very interested in learning as much as I can.
Where do I start to ask questions about loading Arduino IDE onto esp32 dev boards ??
The Arduino IDE is loaded onto a desktop or laptop computer, and is used to program Arduinos and Arduino compatible MCUs.
An internet search with a phrase like "Arduino program ESP32" will turn up countless tutorials.
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Thanks for the reply, I didn’t really mean where do I find answers to my questions on the internet but on this forum. Just wanted to ask the question in the right category on the forum.
So I will ask here, I do have the Arduino installed on my PC, but what I can’t find is “can I run a Arduino IDE program on an esp32 dev board with Wled already installed on it.” ??
If you can use the IDE to develop and run any program on such an ESP32 dev board, then the answer to your latest question is yes.
No, the Arduino IDE is too large and complex to run on an ESP32. It must be run on a PC/laptop.
You cannot "already" install anything on an ESP32 board. Each time you upload code to the ESP32, your upload completely replaces any code that was previously installed. If your code needs a particular library, that will be included in the upload each time, automatically.
Thanks PaulRB.
Forgive me for silly questions but this is all very new to me.
So what you are saying is if I have Wled on this esp32board that s it and if I need to run some IDE code to run something else that needs to go on another board correct?? Being an Arduino or esp32
No. The ESP32 has enough memory for your code and several libraries. The library code and your own code get combined, by the Arduino IDE, which is running on a PC/laptop, into a single executable which gets uploaded to the ESP32.
I'm not sure what you mean by Wled. I'm assuming it is a library. You cannot upload a library to the ESP32 by itself because a library is not a complete program/code. It must be combined with your own code. That combination is a complete code that can be uploaded to the ESP32.
Wled is a program that runs led lighting and mostly runs Christmas lighting displays and in addition to that I just want a small piece of code from Arduino IDE program to run a couple of relays for another display.
Add that small piece of code to the existing Wled code.
Well, that may not be possible in the way you are describing it.
The ESP32 is not a PC/laptop. You cannot have multiple applications installed which run independently of each other. That is possible on a PC/laptop because there is an operating system like Windows or Linux installed. Other applications and libraries can be installed later and can run independently, because the operating system is designed to support that.
In ESP32, there is no operating system like Windows or Linux. A single, complete program must be uploaded and this must include any libraries the program requires. Each time such a program is uploaded, it completely replaces everything that was installed previously. So the program must be complete in itself, and contain any libraries it needs within itself.
You may have heard that ESP32 has a "real-time operating system (RTOS)". But this is not the same thing as complete operating system like Windows or Linux. An RTOS is really just another library, or set of libraries, that helps a program make full use of the ESP's capabilities.
Thanks. This is so confusing for me I think I will just buy a few more esp32 boards and put its own code to operate the relays I want separately. All I want is a small piece of code to turn a relay off and on for about 1 1/2 seconds
So we have wasted our time trying to explain to you? You are going to continue with your original, wasteful plan.
Paul no you have not waisted your time, you have explained to me that I can’t run two pieces of code at the same time on one esp32 board, so that’s why I said I will use one board for each piece of code that I want to run different things. Not waisted time at all.
That is wasteful. One board is more than capable enough. But you must combine the code into a single sketch. The forum can help, if you are willing to learn and make the effort.
I do not know what you have done till now. Here are the first steps
- Install the IDE.
- Install the Espressif ESP32 Board package.
- Start studying the basic examples. Make sure you understand them, else ask.
- If you have some additional components like LEDs/resistors/buttons hook them up to the ESP32 to have some fun.
Use internet searching. "ESP32 relay" and read the first link you find. If it makes sense, then create the project and type-in the code. If the link does not make sense to you, skip to the next link. Here's the first link I got...
Great thanks. I will give it a try.