Building Blocks

By now, you have set up the microcontroller on the breadboard and learned how to transfer code from your computer to the chip. In each of the following activities, you will add basic electronic components to the breadboard--an LED, a button, a speaker, a sensor, and an LCD--and then write a few lines of code to get them working. These activities are simple, but there's a lot to learn here, so take your time and read carefully. The skills you learn in this section will be very important later on. Figure 1 shows some electronic devices that have LEDs, buttons, speakers, and sensors.