Official BBC micro:bit User Guide

GARETH HALFACREE is the author of the Raspberry Pi User Guide and an expert in educational and embedded computing. A noted technology journalist and long-time tech author, Gareth also has an extensive background in computing education.

• Foreword xiIntroduction xiiiPart IChapter 1 Meet the BBC micro:bit 3A Tour of the Board 3Breaking It Down 5Display 6Buttons 7Processor 8Radio 9Accelerometer 10Compass 11Input-Output Pins 12Micro-USB Port 13Battery Connector 14Chapter 2 Getting Started with the BBC micro:bit 17Handling the BBC micro:bit 17Powering the BBC micro:bit 18USB Power 18Battery Power 20Greetings from the BBC micro:bit 23Signs of Life 24Testing the Buttons 24Motion Gaming 24Get Coding 25Resetting the BBC micro:bit 25Chapter 3 Programming the BBC micro:bit 27USB Connectivity 27Drag-and-Drop 29Automatic Flashing 31The Code Editor 32Downloading Your Program 33About Flash Memory 38Part IIChapter 4 Programming Languages 41About Programming Languages 41The Three Main BBC micro:bit Languages 42JavaScript Blocks 43JavaScript 44Python 45Comparing Programming Languages 46Choosing a Programming Language 48Other Programming Languages 49Chapter 5 JavaScript Blocks 51Introducing the JavaScript Blocks Editor 51Program 1: ‘Hello, World!’ 54Loops 57Program 2: Button Inputs 58Multiple Buttons 60Program 3: Touch Inputs 61Variables 62Program 4: The Temperature Sensor 65Formatting the Output 67Program 5: The Compass Sensor .67Program 6: The Accelerometer Sensor 70Delays 73Reading Raw Accelerometer Data 74Program 7: The Fruit Catcher Game 76The Setup 77The Main Program Loop 78Conditional Loops 80Conditional Statements 82The Control Events 84Further Steps 86Chapter 6 JavaScript 87Introducing the JavaScript Editor 88Program 1: ‘Hello, World!’ 90Loops 93Program 2: Button Inputs 94Multiple Buttons 97Program 3: Touch Inputs 98Variables 99Program 4: The Temperature Sensor 102Formatting the Output 104Program 5: The Compass Sensor 104Program 6: The Accelerometer Sensor 107Delays 109Reading Raw Accelerometer Data 110Program 7: The Fruit Catcher Game 112The Setup 113The Main Program Loop 115The Conditional Loops 116The Conditional Statements 117The Control Events 120Further Steps 123Chapter 7 Python 125Introducing the Python Editor 126Program 1: ‘Hello, World!’ 128Loops 132Program 2: Button Inputs 133Multiple Buttons 136Program 3: Touch Inputs 137Variables 138Program 4: The Temperature Sensor 141Formatting the Output 142Program 5: The Compass Sensor 143Program 6: The Accelerometer Sensor 145Delays 147Reading Raw Accelerometer Data 148Program 7: The Fruit Catcher Game 150The Setup 150The Main Program Loop 153Conditional Loops 154Conditional Statements 155Drawing the Sprites 156Finishing the Program 157Further Steps 160Part IIIChapter 8 The Wireless BBC micro:bit 163The BBC micro:bit Radio 163Program 1: One-to-One Communication 164Program 2: One-to-Many Communication 167Program 3: Radio Groups 169Testing the Group Feature 171Using the BBC micro:bit with a Smartphone or Tablet 173Chapter 9 The BBC micro:bit and the Raspberry Pi 175About the Raspberry Pi 176Connecting the Raspberry Pi to the BBC micro:bit 177Reading from the BBC micro:bit 180Using the BBC micro:bit Display 186Practical Example: A CPU Monitor 189Chapter 10 Building Circuits 193Electronic Equipment 194The Input-Output Pins 196The Large Pins 197The Small Pins 199Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) 201Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) 201Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) 201Your First Circuits 202Reading from a Button Input 202Reading Resistor Colour Codes 205Writing to an LED Output 207Fading an LED via PWM 211Reading an Analogue Input 213Chapter 11 Extending the BBC micro:bit 217Extending via Breakout Boards 217Kitronik Edge Connector Breakout Board 218ScienceScope Micro:bit Breakout Board 219Proto-Pic Bread:Bit 220Proto-Pic Exhi:Bit 220Robotics and the BBC micro:bit 222Kitronik Line-Following Buggy 222Kitronik Motor Driver Board 223Technology Will Save Us Micro:Bot 2244tronix Bit:Bot 225BinaryBots 226Other BBC micro:bit Add-Ons 227Kitronik Mi:Power 227Proto-Pic Micro:Pixel Board 228Proto-Pic Simon:Says Board 2294tronix Bit:2:Pi Board 230Kitronik Mi:Pro Protector and Mi:Power Cases 231Chapter 12 The Wearable BBC micro:bit 233Advantages of the Wearable BBC micro:bit 234Conductive Thread 235Using Conductive Thread 237The Rain-Sensing Hat 241Building the Hat 242Mounting the BBC micro:bit 244The Rain-Sensing Program 245Battery Power 246Chapter 13 Additional Resources 249The Micro:bit Educational Foundation 249Official Teaching Resources 251Third-Party Teaching Resources 252The Institution of Engineering and Technology 252Computing At School 253Micro:bit for Primary Schools 253TES Magazine 255Code Clubs 256Part IVAppendix A JavaScript Blocks Recipes 259Appendix B JavaScript Recipes 267Appendix C Python Recipes 275Appendix D Pin-Out Listing 285Index 289