Sharing my enthusiasm too!

[Heckler]

Hi Ardhuru,

Which ESP module are you using?

I'm surprised you had problems getting ESPbasic up and running.
What was the issue?
Anything I can help you with??

I am not saying I am a wizard at the coding of stuff on it (mostly trial and error and looking at others examples) but it seemed pretty easy to get it installed and running.

Although there was a time when one of his versions was a bit unstable so I backed up to an earlier version and it cleared up the problems and I didn't need what was in the newer version.

I think I am using ESPbasic V 1.67 for my clock.

Let me know if I can help you with the ESPbasic if you want to get it working.
Or if you are happy with the direction you have gone then all is good.

The ESPbasic is actually built on the foundation of the arduino implimentation, I believe, so if you are comfortable with the C-like language of arduino then it may be more capable.

[ardhuru]

Which ESP module are you using?

I think I am using ESPbasic V 1.67 for my clock.

Let me know if I can help you with the ESPbasic if you want to get it working.
Or if you are happy with the direction you have gone then all is good.

I believe, so if you are comfortable with the C-like language of arduino then it may be more capable.

Hi Heckler,

I have a couple of ESP01s, ESP01s with flash upgraded to 4mb, ESP07s and a nodeMCU board in my arsenal.

I understand ESP8266Basic works best with 4 mb. My main issues were to do with the file management. Code that I saved would not show up in the file manager, or would automatically get renamed to 'default' and so on. I finally did succeed in getting it working, but didn't have the confidence the issues would not resurface. I have tried this with ver 1.65 and and 1.68.

I'm no expert in C++, so the ESP8266Basic's similarity with PBP is still very enticing; the ease with which you guys can achieve things, in a few simple lines, does make me envious.

Time to give it one more try! And be warned, I shall take up your very gracious offer for help very seriously!

Regards,

Anand

[dhouston]

Anand,

You should have followed up on ZBasic for ESP8266. It's compiler so it's better suited for the limited memory of the ESP8266-01. Most of the ~250 commands for the standard version (Atmel chips) of ZBasic are also available for the ESP8266.

For everyone, this is an outstanding reference for the ESP8266.
https://www.espressif.com/en/media_o...s-book-esp8266

[dhouston]

There's a new contender. Basic4Arduino is a free package that appears to also be adding support for the ESP8266.
https://www.b4x.com/b4r.html

[ardhuru]

Anand,
You should have followed up on ZBasic for ESP8266. It's compiler so it's better suited for the limited memory of the ESP8266-01. Most of the ~250 commands for the standard version (Atmel chips) of ZBasic are also available for the ESP8266.

Dave,

These past few months have kept me occupied with other things, so much so that I have been neglecting my hobbies. So, in the gaps in-between when I can sneak some time to indulge in them, I've been reluctant to learn new platforms.

When it comes to the ESP, I've been going around in circles deciding between Lua, Arduino-ESP, and of late ESP8266Basic, which is now much more stable than it used to be. Its also perhaps the fastest to get going, with additional benefits like being completely OTA and more.

And now, just like you report, there's a new contender, B4R! Having been using B4A for some time, this is a serious option to be considered, especially since it also produces code that can be directly flashed into the ESP.

Also, keep checking up on ESP8266Basic; 'big' things are being promised in the next release, with quantum enhancements. This release is expected to be out within a week or so. In terms of usage I guess its the closest to PBP, and the parallels keep increasing, so the learning curve is very short indeed.

What is your preferred platform for the ESP?

[dhouston]

Dave,
What is your preferred platform for the ESP?

At this point it looks like Erel is planning to support it so I'm waiting to see where that goes. I have a project that involves an Arduino Mini Pro plus ESP plus HC-05 Bluetooth and it now looks like I'll be able to support all using B4R.

BTW, this book is an excellent resource for the ESP...
http://neilkolban.com/tech/esp8266/

[ardhuru]

Right, that makes sense.

If your project requires an ESP as well as Bluetooth, you might want to hold on the final design and migrate it to the expected-soon ESP32, which supports Wifi as well as BLE.

I'm wondering, why use an Arduino at all? Do you need more I/Os than what the ESP8266 12E has?

I'd stumbled across Neils book a few days back. Its absolutely amazing, isn't it? Quite an exhaustive resource.

[dhouston]

I'm wondering, why use an Arduino at all? Do you need more I/Os than what the ESP8266 12E has?

It's a DIY project and the Arduino Mini Pro is easier for end users to handle. WiFi & Bluetooth are optional and function only as wireless to serial interfaces. It's actually two projects that can share most of the code - one needs all of the pins on the Arduino. And the Arduino Mini Pro has an onboard 5V LDO allowing more flexibility in providing power.

Finally, I'm 74 and in poor health so I dislike delays.