So, my dear friend Hernando Barragán has finally given his narrative (backed with facts mind you) about how it all started.
http://arduinohistory.github.io/factsBased(true);Did you know the origins story?
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
+1. Thanks for spreading the word.
Thanks for posting indeed, very interesting read.
It always puzzled me why Wiring which is a C++ library is called 'language'
It always puzzled me why Wiring which is a C++ library is called 'language'
One must understand the origins. Hernando built Wiring, although from an academic perspective, with limited computer science and electronics skills. And to most people in the same circles, they would not understand calling something a "C++ library". Instead "language" is an easier parallel to explain the programming.
This isn't about technicalities. This is about making things easier to use.
Very interesting. And very believable. When i was in the academic world (basic medical research), I saw how some professors would sometimes present student's work as their own - or at least not making it clear that they weren't the prime developers of the work.
In everybody's defense . . .I sometimes can't remember what i did this week
, let alone last decade.
CRS!
--adam
"factsBased"
Facts tell lies, plenty of times - not saying that it did / does here.
The whole story is uninteresting to me in that it seems all about recognition. I think it is constructive that he is trying to set the facts straight but so what? End of the day, he wrote a piece of open software and by its very nature people can use it. Unless he specifically said how he wants to be recognized, he is without recourse.
Life is a bitch, as they would say.
Bookmarked!
Hernando built Wiring, although from an academic perspective, with limited computer science and electronics skills. And to most people in the same circles, they would not understand calling something a "C++ library". Instead "language" is an easier parallel to explain the programming.
It seems to me that Hernando is quite knowledgeable in both electronics and CS. His audience, however, might not be skilled in EE or CS, thus the terms used.
It always puzzled me why Wiring which is a C++ library is called 'language'
Does it lack a key aspect of a language? Users of it can communicate ideas in a structured way.
Is it different in this respect from any another C++ library?
I don't know. Does it being a c++ library exclude it from fitting the definition of a language is my point. If it functions to enable users of it to communicate with the device it is well on the way to fitting the definition of a language. It could be built upon any of a dozen (or more) programming architectures or hardware devices.
It's just a library or API. Not different from thousands of other libraries or APIs. Being portable doesn't make a library a 'language'.
I don't know. Does it being a c++ library exclude it from fitting the definition of a language is my point. If it functions to enable users of it to communicate with the device it is well on the way to fitting the definition of a language. It could be built upon any of a dozen (or more) programming architectures or hardware devices.
It's just a library or API. Not different from thousands of other libraries or APIs. Being portable doesn't make a library a 'language'.
I would call it an API. However, I recently used the term "API" at work, and then one of the managers asked "what does API mean?" So I can see that if you are trying to communicate with non-technical users, calling it a language is a lot easier than having to explain "API" every time. In the same way that the CPU often gets called an "electronic brain".
Yes, it is horribly inaccurate and Real Engineers hate it, but in the real world even Real Engineers have to take into account there are many people who are not as clever as we are, so we have to dumb it down just so a half hour meeting doesn't take 3 days while we explain the proper terminology.
Interesting and ... should I say it ... not surprising.
It will be interesting to see if it all gets straightened out for the public to see.
I would call it an API. However, I recently used the term "API" at work, and then one of the managers asked "what does API mean?" So I can see that if you are trying to communicate with non-technical users, calling it a language is a lot easier than having to explain "API" every time. In the same way that the CPU often gets called an "electronic brain".
He complains about not getting enough recognitions and then doesn't give recognition himself to the creators of C and C++ which are responsible for 95% of the 'language' he claims to invent.
He could use more accurate term such as 'the Wiring commands', not taking credit on inventing the language itself.
Anyway, he and the Arduino group did a great job bringing C++ embedded programming to the masses. Not and easy task.
I would call it an API. However, I recently used the term "API" at work, and then one of the managers asked "what does API mean?" So I can see that if you are trying to communicate with non-technical users, calling it a language is a lot easier than having to explain "API" every time. In the same way that the CPU often gets called an "electronic brain".
He complains about not getting enough recognitions and then doesn't give recognition himself to the creators of C and C++ which are responsible for 95% of the 'language' he claims to invent.
He could use more accurate term such as 'the Wiring commands', not taking credit on inventing the language itself.
Anyway, he and the Arduino group did a great job bringing C++ embedded programming to the masses. Not and easy task.
It seems to me that he was not particularly concerned with recognition in the first place, but felt somewhat miffed when others started claiming work that he had done as theirs - through a variety of direct and indirect means which pushed him into the shadows and out of sight.
Your point of not giving credit to the creators of C and C++ is somewhat irrelevant. Barragán made no claims about being involved in their creation. The claims addressed in the article ARE relevant, because he directly states his involvement.
What's the TLDR?
The whole awful concept of Arduino's programming environment, terminology and awful bloated libraries are a blatant ripoff of Wiring. Hernando Barragán made these for his Master's thesis and his mentor Massimo Banzi rebadged his work and started a business with some other dudes.
Anyway, he and the Arduino group did a great job bringing C++ embedded programming to the masses. Not and easy task.
That perhaps was their greatest achievement (maybe unintended), as prior the Basic Stamp was the educational/hobbist tool of choice for most microcontroller projects for the non-professional, which had much less power for more money.
For whatever the faults of Arduino/wiring functions have, there is no restriction on ignoring them and writing your own better functions to replace them. Arduino was/is a very nice 'first step' in the utilization of simple microcontroller projects. For some there is no reason to move on, and for others a good start on climbing the ladder to better mastery.
makes me question if i really want to buy official arduino.cc boards...
So if i get this straight, to water it down:
LLC is the Mentor's (Banzi)
and SRL is from the guy who made wiring?
You may have to read the article again
makes me question if i really want to buy official arduino.cc boards...
So if i get this straight, to water it down:
LLC is the Mentor's (Banzi)
and SRL is from the guy who made wiring?
No, this guy is a 3rd party to this mess. The other guy from SRL was and is in the business of making boards.
Of course, the argument about who created the Arduino has only really come to the surface after both Arduino #1 and Arduino #2 claim to own the "moral rights" to Arduino. The US trademark case drags on interminably
https://www.unitedstatescourts.org/federal/mad/167131/ with legal arguments amounting to "You suck!", "No, YOU suck!".
It is ironic that while the corporate Arduinos fight over the name, the actual concept and implementation of the system was invented by someone else. Barragan's name appears in some of the copyright notices in the Arduino source code.
Anyway, I suggested to Massimo Banzi he should not waste money on lawyers, but instead "
Rebrand as 'Arduino Original' or something". I don't know if he even read that, but they seem to be doing that with "Genuino".