Windows 10, Arduino 1.8.8, Arduino DUE
Several places start with instructions to load SAM. A half hour of searches, including the search utility on this site, have not revealed what the SAM is.
What is SAM? Is it needed for Arduino DUE?
There are instructions to select: Tools -> Board -> Board Manager then find DUE or SAM there. The list is fairly long but neither one is mentioned there. Did I miss a step or an entire set of instructions somewhere?
Thank you for your time.
bkelly:
Several places start with instructions to load SAM.
Where do you see these instructions. It would be very silly for instructions to say "load SAM". But I think you're paraphrasing these instructions, which is a very bad idea. Much more likely the instructions say to install "Arduino SAM Boards".
bkelly:
What is SAM?
SAM is the architecture of the microcontroller used on the Arduino Due. There are many different microcontroller models but often they will have small variations while remaining very similar in most other functionalities. For example, the ATmega328P used on the Arduino Uno is quite similar to the ATmega168 used on some versions of the Nano and Pro Mini. The main difference is that the ATmega328P has 32 kB of flash memory, while the ATmega168 has 16 kB of flash memory. This is done because the ATmega168 can be manufactured at a lower cost. So if you were mass manufacturing a device and your firmware was less than 16 kB then you would prefer to use the cheaper ATmega168 rather than paying more for the extra memory on the ATmega328P that you have no use for. But at a lower level, the functionality of these two chips is much the same. For this reason, we say they both have the AVR architecture.
Sometimes it is considered desirable to redesign a microcontroller from a much lower level, and in this case you can consider it to have a completely different architecture. This is the case with Arduino Due's SAM3X8E microcontroller when compared with the AVR chips like the ATmega328P. The code Arduino uses to provide support for each of these chips is very different and so they split it into separate support packages. The package used to provide support for the Arduino boards that use the AVR architecture microcontrollers is called "Arduino AVR Boards. The package used to provide support for the Arduino boards that use the SAM architecture microcontrollers is called "Arduino SAM Boards".
bkelly:
Is it needed for Arduino DUE?
You must install Arduino SAM Boards in order to use the Arduino Due with the Arduino IDE.
bkelly:
There are instructions to select: Tools -> Board -> Board Manager then find DUE or SAM there. The list is fairly long but neither one is mentioned there.
I don't believe you. Look again.
bkelly:
Did I miss a step or an entire set of instructions somewhere?
Evidently so. Here are some detailed instructions:
Tools > Board > Boards Manager
Wait for the download to finish.
From the list of packages, click on "Arduino SAM Boards (32-bits ARM Cortex-M3) by Arduino".
Click the "Install" button.
Wait for the installation to finish.
Click the "Close" button.
After following the above instructions, you will find a Tools > Board > Arduino Due (Programming Port) and a Tools > Board > Arduino Due (Native Port) menu options. You need to select the appropriate one of these to use your Arduino Due.
Installing SAM notes
Do you really need a detailed note on what each site says.
Ok, you do, start with:
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/ArduinoDue#toc3
This is one of the leading returns from a search for the phrase: arduino due tutorial
On that page is this text
• Use your Arduino Due on the Arduino Web IDE
• Use your Arduino Due on the Arduino Desktop IDE
o Installing the Arduino Sam Boards core
o Installing Drivers for the Due
Click on the link: Installing the Arduino Sam Boards core
There are instructions for OSX and Windows XP and 7. So this is quite old, but it is a first level return for that search.
It instructs the read to install the Arduion IDE. Which I already have. The link specifically stated install the Sam Boards core, nothing about the IDE.
Search the text for “sam” No further occurences until the tutorial gets to the Linux section. Check each of the 17 occurrences of “sam”. None of them describe a SAM package to install.
That was not fruitful.
To the first reply from pert.
SAM is the architecture of the microcontroller used on the Arduino Due.
That agrees with the printing on the CPU chip. That does not describe an installation package that fits the words: Installing the Arduino Sam Boards core.
The text of link in that web page is:
Installing the Arduino Sam Boards core
The post does not answer the question: What is this thing to install referred to by the phrase Sam Boards core?
&&&&&&&&&&
Moving on to the next phase of the reply where it instructs:
Evidently so. Here are some detailed instructions:
Tools > Board > Boards Manager
Wait for the download to finish.
Mine is a bit different:
Tools -> Board: “Arduino Due (Programming Port)” -> Board Manager
Selecting that option produces a long list of options, none of which contains “SAM”, or “Sam” or “sam”.
At the bottom is a selected bullet with the text Arduino Due (Programming Port)
Mouse down to that and click it, nothing. No download is initiated. I will upload a screen capture of that menu.
In conclusion: What is this thing called SAM that is to be installed?
Yes, I see that the architecture of the CPU is apparently SAM, but what is the software package to download and install. What does it do?
bkelly:
Click on the link: Installing the Arduino Sam Boards core
You do that and the text is:
Installing the Arduino Sam Boards core
If you are using the Arduino IDE version 1.6.2 or newer you need to install the core that supports the Arduino Due. Please follow this guide to install the new core.
When you click on the "this guide" link, it opens a tutorial that teaches you how to install Arduino hardware cores using Boards Manager. Although that guide is intended to be a general guide on how to use Boards Manager, it contains specific instructions for how to install Arduino SAM Boards so there should be no chance for confusion if you bother to read it.
bkelly:
Mine is a bit different:
Wrong. It's not different at all. You just didn't follow the instructions correctly. Maybe they were too condensed to be clear. I'll break it down a little more to see if that makes more sense to you:
bkelly:
Selecting that option produces a long list of options, none of which contains “SAM”, or “Sam” or “sam”.
That's the Tools > Board menu. You can clearly see the "Boards Manager..." option right there at the top. You just didn't click on it.
bkelly:
At the bottom is a selected bullet with the text Arduino Due (Programming Port)
Those are the Arduino Due boards in the Tools > Board menu. This shows that you have already successfully used Boards Manager to install Arduino SAM Boards. I guess you somehow forgot that you did that already?
bkelly:
At the bottom is a selected bullet with the text Arduino Due (Programming Port)
Mouse down to that and click it, nothing. No download is initiated.
That's the expected and correct behavior. When you select a board from the Tools > Board menu, it means that the Arduino IDE will use the specific settings for that board when compiling and uploading sketches.
bkelly:
What is this thing called SAM that is to be installed?
There is no "thing called SAM"! It's Arduino SAM Boards. Please stop calling it "SAM". I've already explained this to you. If you want any chance at success with Arduino it's absolutely essential for you to pay attention to detail. When someone writes "Arduino SAM Boards", they mean "Arduino SAM Boards". Maybe you think you're saving time by calling it "SAM" because that takes a few seconds less for you to type than "Arduino SAM Boards", but in the end doing this will only cause a lot of confusion and waste your time and the time of the people trying to help you.
bkelly:
what is the software package to download and install.
Arduino SAM Boards, as I have already explained. And as I explained, you already have it installed.
bkelly:
What does it do?
The Arduino SAM Boards hardware core provides all the resources the Arduino IDE needs to compile and upload sketches to the Arduino Due:
You are correct. I mistook that at the title of the drop down.
I am working that now. Thank you for your patience.
I was called to dinner just as I was writing the response so it was too short.
On the box and when I read about the board is it an Arduino DUE.
Until now, I have not seen anything written about and Arduino SAM board.
So when I read:
Installing the Arduino Sam Boards core
I parsed it as:
Installing the Arduino [The Arduino board, for brevity the write left out the word DUE therefore ending the board part of the sentence] Sam Boards core [The stuff to be installed, the SAMS Boards core]
Sorry for the trouble.
Edit again:
I reviewed this thread again and refer to this line from the previous post:
Arduino SAM Boards, as I have already explained. And as I explained, you already have it installed.
The phrase: Arduino SAM Boards refers to hardware. The words include "Boards." It does not reference software. We cannot install "Boards" in our computer without opening them up and adding hardware.
So I interpret that an combing the IDE software with the BSP (Board Support Package)
