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NE555
NE555 on breadboard

Maybe the most famous precision electronic timer of all times, NE555 was invented by Hans Camenzind (Switzerland) in 1970.

After more than 40 years it's still alive and healthy: born in the BJT's era now it is available in CMOS technology, even at low voltage (for more specific requirements) and in more than a package.

The interest about it never decreases, because of its simplicity and versatility.
And you'll find plenty of examples on the web with this IC involved.

 

 

By integrating both analogical and digital circuitry (very basic aspects) it is a bridge for the beginners to pass from discrete components to integrated ones with a good continuity level.

...continue reading "NE555"

Memory-Representation
RAM Memory Representation

In prolog of the previous article we talked about the possibility to create more abstact levels of information once we're sure about simpler ones.
We'll touch with hands how to group variables into structures containing them.
To make things easier please refer to picture, where RAM memory scheme is represented in the simplest logical view.

Every colored box is a location where to put data and as well it has a label assigned by operating system on its startup: progressive numeration is enough for our goals.
It doesn't matter if first box matches the effective first memory location: here we just need to think these boxes contiguous.

What happens when a compiler meets a variable declaration? ...continue reading "Variables looping and grouping"

0-and-1
0 and 1 communicating

In a world of 0 and 1 bits the necessity to create a convention for communications rises up immediately.
They are the logical minimum set to create information (and the best one, as having been demonstrated), through possible variations between them. In absolute they're pure data.

Is it enough? certainly it isn't; we need at least a convention thanks to which creating an amount of interchangeable informations.

By basing on these last ones, we create again other more abstract new informations, and so on.

We're trying to summarize in few words a process that took many decades of years to assume a definitive common physiognomy, in the effort to bring computer science closer to human vision and vice versa: in a way you don't have to worry about what is happening under the hood... if you don't want!
But if you did? ...continue reading "Strange Types Circulating (in code)"

UML Intoduction

In previous article about Lazarus IDE and Free Pascal compiler we began an important talk on how programming could be easy (thanks to other people's job).
Here is important to mention how a blind programming generally brings into a software with a short life-cycle, where not directly into failure.

As we like to remember on our site, theory and practice can travel together.
Software isn't an exception.

...continue reading "BOUML. Model your software"

The lazarus project

Even if you're far away fromĀ  programming any kind of software, you could be surprised by how beginning is simple.
Yes. Simple!
Programming is commonly intended like a sort of magic, where a strange magician press buttons on keyboard, creating wonderful mysteries.
Where possible, let's start destroying this myth!

Using a metaphor, programming is cooking.
You just have written a or have a written recipe: reading it you can imagine where it brings you, but making it is better, maybe discovering that you like it as it is, you don't like at all and start to improve it, you don't like at all and start to worsen it.

...continue reading "Lazarus! Get up, pick your pc up, and program!"