At onlinelabseries, we always listen to our members. We might not always be able to do everything that has been relayed to us because we simply can't please everyone. But we are doing our best and we are going to continue to do our best to listen to our members and we will definitely try to include some of those suggestions into our future plans & lab series schedule.
Introducing the Software Development Learning Track
The software development track has always been in our pipeline and it's something we plan to introduce much later in the year. This development track will touch on topics related more towards actual software development like working with web applications, mobile app development, desktop development and so on. But on top of that, the software development track will also share overlaps with the embedded systems design & development track.
"But There are So Many Programming Languages / Frameworks"
Yes, that is very true. which is why we are going to do our due diligence of making sure we only isolate and pick out the ones that truly matter. Now, we are not saying that those languages or frameworks we didn't pick to showcase aren't important or anything, they probably still are since there will likely be companies and organisations who's already using it in some of their production & in-development applications. However, our goal is to focus on the top languages and frameworks we believe will be in a huge demand over the next 5 years or so.
Getting Started with Embedded Systems Design & Development
Well, in reality, we have already started our learning track with electronics and embedded systems and we are likely going to move into STEM, which in all considerations is the avoidance of writing any code. But for some use-cases (especially in the designing and development of new consumer or industrial electronics devices), learning to design & develop a great program is important.
Since the very focus of our lab series is to educate people like you on how to maximise your hardware components, it would only make perfect sense for us to also explain and share with you how you can fully optimise the design & development of your future firmware program.
When someone starts embedded systems development, they normally get stuck in a question that they ask themselves, "Should I learn the full-fledge C++/C first? Or can I just dive right into embedded C++/C?"
Well, at onlinelabseries, we feel that's more of a chicken and egg question. We have done a lot of research online and have seen so many debates going on about this subject and frankly, no one has won that argument yet.
So, here's what we think:
From our very own development experience, we have found that there is a way to get started with embedded systems design & development without the need to go through the whole entire C++ primer (which is nearly 1000 pages). There is a smarter way to learn embedded systems design & development and we are happy to introduce that into our lab series. There are many ways to become an effective developer. Sure, the years of experience helps, but we've learn through our own experiences that sometimes, the best way to learn and become better is through the learning of other's mistakes. It's about trying to understand why certain methods didn't work and what's the best way to design your program to ensure it's always running efficiently.
Developing with PlatformIO
Here comes the exciting moment!!! *Drum roll*
We have been using the PlatformIO Development Environment for more than 6 months now, and we have to say one thing - It is AMAZING!!
As you already know, we have a thing for identifying future trends when it comes to technology, science, engineering and basically the whole nine yards. In our assessment over the months, we believe that PlatformIO has a really strong future. And I mean a really long promising future. Some of their features are still currently in the midst of development, but as a platform & product that supports embedded systems development, they definitely did something right.
Some of their features are still currently in the midst of development, but as a platform & product that supports embedded systems development, they definitely did something right.
We are really blessed that we managed to established a friendship with it's Founder and CEO, Ivan Kravets. Great guy to be honest. And he has been kind enough to sponsor us for an entire year of our lab series for featuring and showcasing PlatformIO in most of our lab series (that involves embedded systems design & development). Well, technically, you can say that by the time we are halfway into this lab series, we will be the most recognised experts in PlatformIO. *gloating* And by the time the lab series is over, you would've joined us on that ship of being the next group of PlatformIO experts. Sound cool?
What PlatformIO Can Do, and What It Can't
Now, as much as we love some of the products and brands we are going to showcase (as well as those we would love to showcase), we always believe that no one product can do everything. Put it simply, there are no perfect products in this world. With every product, platform, framework and software that we will showcase in our future lab series, we will always highlight what we feel are some of it's key strengths as well as some of it's limitations.
It is not to say that the product isn't good, but as a developer or system designer, it is important for you to understand how best to maximise the platform/product, use it to your best advantage.
When we explore those strengths and limitations, it is important to understand the nature of why we do that. It is not to say that the product isn't good, but as a developer or system designer, it is important for you to understand how best to maximise the platform/product, use it to your best advantage. If for some reason the product/platform doesn't really help you achieve certain goals, you probably should complement it with another tool and add it to your toolchain.
As of right now, we are still working on the scheduling portion of onlinelabseries and we do not yet have a specific date for hosting the dedicated lab series for PlatformIO, but rest assured, we are thinking of scheduling it some time in the month of June 2018. So make sure you stay tuned for more updates.