avrmicrocontroller
I am thinking of using ATmega328P for a project so can I use it without using an Arduino board, just in a breadboard and use other programmers to burn and use Atmel Studio and C to program it.
Is ATmega328P a good choice for this or do I need to use another microcontroller? Please suggest me the name of another microcontroller.
My project needs to use LCD, ADC, and IR sensor circuit. Can you also suggests programming material for ADC and LCD interfacing with ATmega328P in the C language?
If you're inexperienced in the microprocessor/microcontroller programming field, you should probably learn C first, so that you can understand when and why Java is a poor choice for most microcontroller projects.
Did you read the restrictions on the JVM you linked? It includes the following problems:
If you're not familiar with what these restrictions mean, make sure that you have a plan B if it turns out that you can't actually do the project with Java due to the space and speed restrictions.
If you still want to go with Java, perhaps because you expect the device to be programmed by a lot of people who only know Java, I'd strongly suggest getting bigger hardware, likely something that runs embedded Linux. See this page from Oracle for some specs to shoot for to run the embedded JVM, in the FAQ of their discussion they recommend a minimum of 32MB of RAM and 32MB of Flash. That's about 32,000 times the RAM and 1,0000 times the Flash of the AVR you're looking at. Oracle's Java Embedded Intro page goes into more detail about the restrictions of the JVM. Their tone of voice is, as you might guess, a good deal more Java-friendly than mine. Be aware that this kind of hardware is much more difficult to design than an 8-bit AVR.
I'm a computer engineering student with a computer science minor. My university's CS department has drunk the Java Kool-aid, so a lot of students in the engineering program come in knowing only Java (which is a sad state of affairs for a programmer, at least learn some Python or C++ if you don't want to learn C...), so one of my professors published a C Cheat Sheet (Wayback machine link) for students with a year of Java experience. It's only 75 pages; I suggest you read or skim it before making a decision. In my opinion, C is the most efficient, durable, and professional language in which to develop an embedded project.
Another alternative to consider is the Arduino framework. It uses a stripped down version of the Wiring language, which is like C++ without objects or headers. It can run on many AVR chips, it's definitely not restricted to their hardware. It will give you an easier learning curve than just jumping straight into C.
In conclusion,
Alt text: Took me five tries to find the right one, but I managed to salvage our night out--if not the boat--in the end.
I recently installed Atmel Studio 6 and upgraded a project that had to be manualy recreated so I thought I'd document the process including use of an AVR Dragon. The first step was to create a new project and as my code was C++ I selected GCC C++ Executable Project:
The next step is device selection, a search facility is provided that saves sifting through the entire list of devices:
The next step required for most projects is to define the CPU frequency. I went into Project | Properties and went to the symbols tab for the compiler I'm using, in this case C++. There I defined F_CPU by pressing the add button and typing F_CPU=11059200 to suit the crysyal I'm using. Once done the screen looks as follows (note that I corrected the value after taking the screenshot, it was missing a zero):
In the same area you can go down to the tool tab and define the type of debugger / programmer and the interface. In my case I was using the JTAG interface, different options will appear if using ISP but the defaults are normally OK.
Once that's been saved you can click on the device programming icon on the toolbar or press Ctrl + Shift + P to get to the device programming screen.
Once you've confirmed the correct tool, device and interface is selected you can press the apply button to connect. It's likely the AVR Dragon will require a firmware update to work so press the upgrade button if prompted to do so and wait for the upgrade to complete.
Once connected you'll be able to read the device signature and target voltage to confirm the connection to the target is OK. You can also program the various memories, lockbits and lock bits from the same screen.
However once your configuration bits are have been set you may find it more convenient to use the start without debugging button on the toolbar to launch the project. That will automatically build the project if required, program the device and start the program.
Best Answer
I'm basically self promoting here but hopefully it'll help.
I actually made a tutorial video that uses the ATmega328P and Atmel Studio 6 to blink an LED wired to the chip.
The video shows the circuit piece by piece. If you go into the description, there's code, a Schematic and a BOM to help you get started. There's some extra code as well for the ADC stuff. Unfortunately I didn't do anything with an LCD interface.
Blink Tutorial Video
And here's a video that shows the ADC working:
ADC ATmega328P
I realize this doesn't answer all your questions, but at least this might help you get started.