Using array to light up LEDS

Projects Programming
1

I'm currently studying Arduino and I need help about Arrays.

From what I know we can use arrays to declare the pins rather than giving it names and pin # separately, but is it possible to declare the whole array as output instead of typing the array elements 1 by 1?

I want to use array to efficiently write my code rather than a long one.

int LED[] = {2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9};
void setup() {
    pinMode(LED,OUTPUT);
}

Can I also use the whole array to blink up all the pins at the same time without specifying the array elements?

void loop(){
digitalWrite(LED,HIGH);
delay(100);
digitalWrite(LED,LOW);
delay(100);    
}

Help in my studies will be appreciated! :slight_smile:

2

but is it possible to declare the whole array as output instead of typing the array elements 1 by 1?

No but you can use a for loop.

3

You would use a for() loop to step through each element in the array to do something with that element.

Edit:
for (int thisPin = 0; thisPin < sizeof(LED); thisPin++) // make LED[] type byte
{
pinMode(ledPins[thisPin], OUTPUT);
}

4
Code:

---


```
const uint8_t LED[] = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9};

template <class T, size_t N>
void pinMode(const T color=#000000[/color][N], uint8_t mode) {
 for (const T &pin : pins)
   pinMode(pin, mode);
}

template <class T, size_t N>
void digitalWrite(const T color=#000000[/color][N], uint8_t val) {
 for (const T &pin : pins)
   digitalWrite(pin, val);
}

void setupcolor=#000000[/color] {
 pinMode(LED, OUTPUT);
}

void loopcolor=#000000[/color] {
 digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
 delaycolor=#000000[/color];
 digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
 delaycolor=#000000[/color];
}
```

|

5

PieterP:

Code:

---


```
const uint8_t LED[] = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9};

template <class T, size_t N>
void pinMode(const T color=#000000[/color][N], uint8_t mode) {
  for (const T &pin : pins)
    pinMode(pin, mode);
}

template <class T, size_t N>
void digitalWrite(const T color=#000000[/color][N], uint8_t val) {
  for (const T &pin : pins)
    digitalWrite(pin, val);
}

void setupcolor=#000000[/color] {
  pinMode(LED, OUTPUT);
}

void loopcolor=#000000[/color] {
  digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
  delaycolor=#000000[/color];
  digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
  delaycolor=#000000[/color];
}
```

|

The OP is new :wink:

6

larryd:
The OP is new :wink:

Well, you're right of course, it does what he asked for, but it's pretty intimidating.

@OP: Here's a simpler version to understand what's going on. The previous version just moves the for loop into a separate function to reduce the number of unnecessary repetitions.

Code:

---


```
const uint8_t LED[] = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9};
const size_t numberOfLEDs = sizeofcolor=#000000[/color] / sizeofcolor=#000000[/color];

void setupcolor=#000000[/color] {
  for (uint8_t i = 0; i < numberOfLEDs; i++)
    pinMode(LED[i], OUTPUT);
}

void loopcolor=#000000[/color] {
  for (uint8_t i = 0; i < numberOfLEDs; i++)
    digitalWrite(LED[i], HIGH);
  delaycolor=#000000[/color];
  for (uint8_t i = 0; i < numberOfLEDs; i++)
    digitalWrite(LED[i], LOW);
  delaycolor=#000000[/color];
}
```

|

Some notes:
Line 1: the array is declared const because its contents don't change. This is good practice to prevent yourself from accidentally changing it, by using if (LED[0] = 2) instead of if (LED[0] == 2), for example. The data type is uint8_t because a pin number cannot be negative (u = unsigned) or greater than 255 (an unsigned integer of 8 bits can save 2⁸ = 256 numbers, i.e. [0, 255]).

Line 2: the number of elements of an array is the total number of bytes of the array divided by the number of bytes of one element.

Line 5: just as for the pin numbers, the uint8_t type is used for the loop index, because it's positive and less than 256.

If you want to understand how the previous example works (maybe in a couple of weeks/months), the keywords to look for are function templates and range-based for loops

Pieter

7

@PieterP

BTW I like your postings. ++

8

larryd:
@PieterP

BTW I like your postings. ++

Great to hear that :slight_smile: I really enjoy posting here.