Understanding Indexes

Projects Programming
1

Hey! I'm pretty new to Arduino and I'm working on a project that keeps talking about indexes, but I'm not sure what it means or how to use it. Also, int8_t keeps appearing but I have no idea what that means either... Here's the sample code:

/************************************************* ************************************************** ******
* OPEN-SMART Red Serial MP3 Player Lesson 1: Play a song
NOTE!!! First of all you should download the voice resources from our google drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B6uNNXJ2z4CxaFVzZEZZVTR5Snc?usp=sharing


Then unzip it and find the 01 and 02 folder and put them into your TF card (should not larger than 32GB). 

* You can learn how to play a song with its index in the TF card.
*
* The following functions are available:
*
/--------basic operations---------------/
mp3.play();
mp3.pause();
mp3.nextSong();
mp3.previousSong();
mp3.volumeUp();
mp3.volumeDown();
mp3.forward();    //fast forward
mp3.rewind();     //fast rewind
mp3.stopPlay();  
mp3.stopInject(); //when you inject a song, this operation can stop it and come back to the song befor you inject
mp3.singleCycle();//it can be set to cycle play the currently playing song 
mp3.allCycle();   //to cycle play all the songs in the TF card
/--------------------------------/

mp3.playWithIndex(int8_t index);//play the song according to the physical index of song in the TF card

mp3.injectWithIndex(int8_t index);//inject a song according to the physical index of song in the TF card when it is playing song.

mp3.setVolume(int8_t vol);//vol is 0~0x1e, 30 adjustable level

mp3.playWithFileName(int8_t directory, int8_t file);//play a song according to the folder name and prefix of its file name
                                                            //foler name must be 01 02 03...09 10...99
                                                            //prefix of file name must be 001...009 010...099

mp3.playWithVolume(int8_t index, int8_t volume);//play the song according to the physical index of song in the TF card and the volume set

mp3.cyclePlay(int16_t index);//single cycle play a song according to the physical index of song in the TF

mp3.playCombine(int16_t folderAndIndex[], int8_t number);//play combination of the songs with its folder name and physical index
      //folderAndIndex: high 8bit is folder name(01 02 ...09 10 11...99) , low 8bit is index of the song
      //number is how many songs you want to play combination

About SoftwareSerial library:
The library has the following known limitations:
If using multiple software serial ports, only one can receive data at a time.

Not all pins on the Mega and Mega 2560 support change interrupts, so only the following can be used for RX: 
10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 50, 51, 52, 53, A8 (62), A9 (63), A10 (64), A11 (65), A12 (66), A13 (67), A14 (68), A15 (69).

Not all pins on the Leonardo and Micro support change interrupts, so only the following can be used for RX: 
8, 9, 10, 11, 14 (MISO), 15 (SCK), 16 (MOSI).
On Arduino or Genuino 101 the current maximum RX speed is 57600bps.
On Arduino or Genuino 101 RX doesn't work on Pin 13.

Store: dx.com/440175
https://open-smart.aliexpress.com/store/1199788

************************************************** **************************************************/
#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#include <RedMP3.h>

#define MP3_RX 2//RX of Serial MP3 module connect to D7 of Arduino
#define MP3_TX 3//TX to D8, note that D8 can not be used as RX on Mega2560, you should modify this if you donot use Arduino UNO
MP3 mp3(MP3_RX, MP3_TX);

int8_t index  = 0x01;//the first song in the TF card

void setup()
{
  delay(500);//Requires 500ms to wait for the MP3 module to initialize  
  mp3.play();
  delay(500);//you should wait for >=50ms between two commands
  mp3.stopPlay();

}

void loop()
{
mp3.allCycle();
}

/*********************************************************************************************************
The end of file
*********************************************************************************************************/

If anyone could give me some insight it would be greatly appreciated! (:

2

Also, int8_t keeps appearing but I have no idea what that means either

integer, 8 bit, standard type.

that keeps talking about indexes, but I'm not sure what it means or how to use it.

The songs are in some order. It's saying play the 7th song from the list, for instance.

3

Notice this line:

int8_t index  = 0x01;//the first song in the TF card

The index just indicates the first song, the second song, the third song (1, 2, 3), etc.
0x01 is unnecessary and confusing. 1 would work equally well.

4

0x01 is unnecessary and confusing.

Obviously the code was written by someone with 16 fingers.

5

As an example this

mp3.playWithVolume(int8_t index, int8_t volume);

describes a function called playWithVolume() that requires two parameters - both of the of datatype int8_t which is a signed 8 bit number and is the same as the Arduino char datatype.

The first parameter will be treated as an index (presumably to choose a song) and the second parameter will be treated as the volume at which the song will be played.

The names given to the parameters have no intrinsic significance. The author of the library could have called anything he wished.

...R

6

Thank you all!