Arduino Sketches: Tools and Techniques for Programming Wizardry

CHAPTER13

TFT

This chapter discusses the following functions of the TFT library:

• TFT()
• begin()
• width()
• height()
• background()
• text()
• setTextSize()
• point()
• line()
• rect()
• circle()
• stroke()
• fill()
• noStroke()
• noFill()
• loadImage()
• isValid()
• image()

The hardware needed to use the example in this chapter includes:

• Arduino Uno
• LM35 Temperature sensor
• Adafruit ST7735 TFT breakout board (available at http://www.adafruit.com/product/358)
• Micro-SD card
• Breadboard
• Connection cables
• 10-kilohm resistor
• Light Dependent Resistor

You can find the code download for this chapter at http://www.wiley.com/go/arduinosketches on the Download Code tab. The code is in the Chapter 13 download folder and the filename is chapter13.ino.

Introduction

Computer enthusiasts love their hardware, and one of the most loved (and most feared) devices is the humble monitor. When you talk about a monitor, some people immediately think about a previous technology, known as CRT.

Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT for short) was the technology used by televisions and monitors for decades. Put simply, it is an electron canon; a device at one end blasts out electrons onto a fluorescent screen. Large magnets divert the electron beam to hit specific places on the screen, causing the screen to light up at distinct points. Of course, electrons are highly susceptible to atmospheric impurities, and even air, so the gun and the screen were encased inside a large glass shell in a vacuum. To avoid becoming too fragile, the glass was often thick, ...