{"id":4317,"date":"2019-06-12T20:00:57","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T18:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/msalamon.pl\/?p=4317"},"modified":"2025-12-27T19:30:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T18:30:30","slug":"arduino-users-hate-him-he-discovered-a-simple-way-to-get-started-with-stm32","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/msalamon.pl\/en\/arduino-users-hate-him-he-discovered-a-simple-way-to-get-started-with-stm32\/","title":{"rendered":"Arduino users hate him\u2026 He discovered a simple way to get started with STM32."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Everyone was once a beginner. In the past, to acquire knowledge, you searched through libraries. Today, you search through Google. Since you found your way here, you\u2019ve probably typed the phrase \u201cHow to start with STM32?\u201d or something similar into a search engine at least once in your life. There is no <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

single, correct recipe. Let me share my point of view on how to start learning STM32 programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The first language you should master at a basic level is English. Yes, English. If you don\u2019t know it yet, get to work as soon as possible. Whether at school or in courses. Even some online courses. Believe me, this is the most important language you should know, and not only for programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, schools don\u2019t teach us in a way that lets us communicate around the world without problems. I know that from my own experience. Only when I started working with international teams did I learn how poorly I read, write, and speak English. Fortunately, when you have to, you learn very quickly \ud83d\ude42 Now I have no problem communicating daily with both Chinese teams (so-called Chinglish) and Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next language you should master is a programming language: C. You can write in something else like MicroPython, but in our industry these are niche languages. If you\u2019re serious about embedded programming and later working in this field, C is a must.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You won\u2019t program a microcontroller without having it physically. You can try working with simulators, but in my opinion, at the beginning they\u2019re not worth the attention. You need to feel the hardware, see something blink or move. When you make a short circuit you\u2019ll smell burnt semiconductor, and then you know you broke something. Simulations are good at an advanced level, when systems grow and the cost of bringing them up in the early phases of a project on physical components can be high. Besides, testing in simulation is faster, which can be very important initially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Base and evaluation boards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you want to program STM32, I recommend ready-made boards straight from ST. In my opinion it\u2019s best to buy a Nucleo with a 64\u2011pin package.<\/a> They cost about 60\u201390 z\u0142 and have an on-board programmer. All microcontroller pins are brought out to goldpin headers. In addition to its own goldpin header proudly called Morpho,<\/em> the Nucleo<\/a> boards also feature headers known from Arduino Uno, so you can also use numerous shields.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Discovery boards are also available. They\u2019re a bit richer in external components, such as accelerometers, microphones, or displays. They also generally have larger and more powerful microcontrollers. You can also consider such a board as a beginner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last group of boards I can recommend is the Chinese BluePill<\/a>. It\u2019s a really small board with a powerful STM32F103 microcontroller<\/a>. Its biggest drawback is the lack of a programmer. You have to buy it separately or, if you have one, use the one from an ST kit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peripheral components<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You need to connect something to this microcontroller. In kits there\u2019s usually only one LED and sometimes a button. You won\u2019t do great things with that. The only exception is the aforementioned Discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my opinion you\u2019ll need, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n