App Code Labs - Page 2 of 3 - iOS Development & General Hackery

December 4, 2018

Unleash Your Raspberry Pi! How to Install Headless Raspbian Lite

Need to free your Raspberry Pi from the desk? Unleash it from monitor and keyboard? Learn how to build a minimal installation of Raspbian Lite running in headless mode so you can install it in a robot… or up a tree! These days it’s actually very easy to set up such a system, using Raspbian Lite and the NOOBS...

Electronics/Hardware/Linux/Microcontrollers/Raspberry Pi

November 26, 2018

Stop Being Afraid Of Regular Expressions: 9 Essential Patterns You Should Learn

Regular expressions have a somewhat daunting reputation. Arguably one of the most useful inventions in computing history, they are nonetheless regarded with equal measures of awe and dread even by some experienced programmers. Why is this? Regular expressions are actually straightforward to understand and use. But their reputation has not been helped by people copying large and complex patterns from...

Linux/macOS/Regular Expressions/Shell scripting/Unix

November 19, 2018

What’s an SoC? Defining system-on-chip is harder than you think.

As gadgets get more advanced, the technology inside them has been subtly changing. Not too long ago, microcontrollers were the mainstay of most battery-powered gadgets and appliances around the home. But over the last decade or so this has started to shift, and ever more devices are now based upon system-on-chips (SoCs). But what exactly is this new class of...

Electronics/Hardware/Microprocessors/SoC

November 7, 2018

Arduino vs. Raspberry Pi: 9 Crucial Differences You Need to Know

A lot of newcomers ask which is best: Arduino or Raspberry Pi? There’s no “right” answer to that question. It depends entirely on your needs, because even though they look similar and cost roughly the same, it’s like comparing apples with oranges. There are a lot of differences between Raspberry Pi and Arduino. No-one has the time to read the...

Arduino/Electronics/Hardware/I/O/Linux/Raspberry Pi

October 31, 2018

Microprocessors vs. Microcontrollers vs. SoCs: All You Need to Know

What does the word “processor” mean, nowadays? People use it to talk about a bewildering array of microprocessor technologies, from humble 8-pin microcontrollers to today’s massively integrated, multi-die packages that keep pushing the boundaries of the smartphone revolution. Once upon a time there were CPUs. And then there were microprocessors (MPUs), quickly followed by microcontrollers (MCUs). And finally there came...

Arduino/Electronics/Hardware/I/O/Linux

September 16, 2018

Advanced Wildcard Patterns Most People Don’t Know

If you’re a macOS Terminal or Linux shell user you may be familiar with simple wildcard patterns. But most people don’t know the more advanced patterns, which occupy a kind of netherworld between simple wildcards and their more complex cousins, regular expressions. In this article you’ll learn about these patterns and their hidden power. In my article Think You Understand...

Linux/macOS/Shell scripting/Uncategorized/Unix

August 12, 2018

Wildcards in Unix & macOS: Why Most People Only Think They Understand Wildcards

A very useful concept on the macOS (and Linux) command line is that of wildcards. Many casual command line users will have a passing familiarity with them but most people don’t really understand how they actually work. Free Video Course! The content of this post is now covered in some depth on my Udemy course Learn to be a macOS...

Linux/macOS/Shell scripting/Unix

June 27, 2018

Make Your iOS App Pop With Animated Gradients

Do you want to make your app’s design jump out and grab your users’ attention? With animated gradients in your Swift iOS app you can create subtle, dynamic and eye-catching user interfaces – but many developers find Core Animation hard to master. If that’s you then fear not: this tutorial will teach you how to animate a CAGradientLayer with Swift...

Core Animation/Core Graphics/iOS/Swift

March 10, 2018

Build an ATtiny44/24/84 Programmer Using an Arduino Nano

This tutorial will demonstrate how to build a programmer that can directly flash Atmel’s ATtiny range of microcontrollers, using only an Arduino Nano and a few additional parts. The programmer will work unmodified with the ATtiny44, ATtiny24 and ATtiny84, and is easy to adapt to the ATTiny25/45/85 by reconfiguring the breadboard wiring. Why Would I Use a Raw AVR Micro?...

Arduino/Electronics/Hardware/I/O

February 28, 2018

How to Read a Matrix Keypad Using Arduino

This tutorial shows you how to read a key matrix so you can hook up a simple keypad interface to your Arduino. This kind of functionality has almost endless uses, but it’s particularly useful for door entry and other security systems, as well as simple menu-driven GUIs for home automation. Why We Need This Many of the gadgets that we design as makers...

Arduino/Electronics/Hardware/I/O