Switching from Arduino to Netduino

Hello all, So a bunch of people are telling me that the netduino is way better than the arduino, and I've looked at the Netduino plus and it looks really great. My only issue is that I don't know how to program in the .net or whatever it codes in. I consider myself a fairly good arduino programmer and I want to know how difficult it would be to switch over. So, how is it?

Hi Lefty4000 I think it all really depends on what you want to do and how you like to do it, I wouldn't say that the netduino is better than an arduino (nor would i say it is worse) they are both tools/platforms with their own strengths and weaknesses. It would be like saying what is best form of music Death Metal or Trad. Jazz, certainly you will find zeolots who will tell you that unless you do and think the same as them you are wrong but that's life. For me it comes down what you are most comfortable with and the tools available. Speaking as a .net developer the fact that i can use visual studio as my IDE is a huge bonus, as i have always felt the arduino ide to be somewhat simplistic and lacking in terms of features compared to a "professional" dev environment (plus the requirement on Java is a real turn off for me). Also I like the fact that i get to use C# which again i spend my working days working with, as well as the managed environment so i dont have to do so much low level configuration. However coming from the Arduino world you may find the additional levels of abstraction quite a paradigm shift. e.g. something like bitbanging with an arduino is a relatively trivial task, but considerably harder with the .net micro framework to reach the same levels of performance, but the productivity gains of using a consistent programming interface across a verity of platforms is a winner for me any day. Also for me the fact that its .net is a real bonus as I can use all the tools I am accustomed to using for the day job with the netduino, i.e. I can unit test my embedded code along with (web or desktop) application code, which from an integration point of view is unparalleled. Yes you can create your self a build environment and script all of that your self, but frankly I would prefer to spend my time developing software not configuring and gaffer taping multiple applications together with (in my experience) a fragile batch/bash/python (delete as applicable or add scripting language of choice) build and integration script. Finally i dont think many would argue that C# isn't a more useful skill to have on a C.V. than the arduino "sorta c syntax" although they are both curly brace languages so the fundamentals remain the same... Nak.

Hello all,

So a bunch of people are telling me that the netduino is way better than the arduino, and I've looked at the Netduino plus and it looks really great. My only issue is that I don't know how to program in the .net or whatever it codes in. I consider myself a fairly good arduino programmer and I want to know how difficult it would be to switch over. So, how is it?

I don't agree with the "bunch of people".
Netduino and Arduino are simply different things: any kind of comparison have no or limited sense. What's better: a pizza-pie or a juice? Both belong to the "food" things, but they are quite incomparable.
Netduino is nice because the C# and the .Net (micro) framework, which are very easy to use. Really can't think to a faster way to develop a simple app. But it's much like going to the shop using a truck+trailer: it's much slower than the Arduino because it has tons of operations more than the "raw" C/C++. That "tons of ops" aren't useless: if you're going to do the same thing using an Arduino, your code will get larger and slower as well.

I really suggest to take you time, and watching at this video. It's an effective way to understanding better what's the MF-world, and decide whether purchasing a Net-enabled board or not.
http://channel9.msdn...Hydra-Basic-Kit

Hope it helps.
Cheers

So a bunch of people are telling me that the netduino is way better than the arduino,

It's generously specced. The selling point for me was the simplicity of getting a good prototype up and running on Ethernet & SD card storage. Plug in a USB cable, write object oriented code in my favorite IDE, and hit deploy. Can't beat that.

The Netduino certainly has applications. A little overkill for flashing LEDs on and off. On the other hand it makes a really good brain for a car computer install with lots of inputs/outputs/displays and busses

I definatly like bit banging with the Arduino, although I've noticed that I am relying so heavily on the libraries for other IC's to use with the Arduino. I want to be able to code my own deals with other IC's such as the 132 PWM driver from austria microsystems. I know that the .Net along with the visual studio environment would be able to help me out with that its just actually getting to it. I'm tired of the whole java thing of the arduino and I need to branch out and do more better. I feel like the industry hardly runs java and is more using C++ C and C#