Getting Started with Netduino

Instructions

These instructions are valid for Netduino 2 and 3 boards.

Step 1: Install Development Tools

• Windows Instructions
• Mac OS Instructions

Step 2: Make Sure the Board Firmware is Up to Date

Once your development environment is configured, make sure your board has the latest firmware on it. The firmware includes a customized .NETMF runtime specific to the board hardware. Firmware update instructions are here.

Step 3: Create a new .NET MicroFramework App

Visual Studio for Windows

1. Launch Visual Studio and create a new solution of type Visual C### > Micro Framework > Console Application and name it whatever you want:

   

2. Right-click on the References folder in the Solution Explorer and add:

   • Microsoft.Spot.Hardware
   • SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware
   • SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino (or NetduinoPlus if that's what you're using)

Visual Studio for mac

1. Launch Xamarin Studio and create a new solution of type C### > MicroFramework > MicroFramework Console Application and name it whatever you want:


2. Double-click on the References folder in the Solution Pad and add:

   • Microsoft.Spot.Hardware
   • SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware
   • SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino

Add the Application Code

After you've created the project and configured the references, add the following code to your Program.cs file.

using System;
using Microsoft.SPOT;
using Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware;
using System.Threading;
using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino;

namespace NetduinoBlink
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // configure an output port for us to "write" to the LED
            OutputPort led = new OutputPort(Pins.ONBOARD_LED, false);
            // note that if we didn't have the SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino DLL, we could also manually access it this way:
            //OutputPort led = new OutputPort(Cpu.Pin.GPIO_Pin10, false);
            int i = 0;
            while (true)
            {
                led.Write(true); // turn on the LED
                Thread.Sleep(250); // sleep for 250ms
                led.Write(false); // turn off the LED
                Thread.Sleep(250); // sleep for 250ms

                Debug.Print ("Looping" + i);
                i++;
            }

        }
    }
}

This code does the following things:

1. It creates an OutputPort. An OutputPort allows you to "write" to a pin, e.g. power it on or off.
2. Loops forever: writing to the port to turn on, then waiting 250ms, then turning it off.
3. Prints to the Debug Window the loop iteration it's on.

Deploy

Visual Studio for Windows

1. Make sure your Netduino is plugged in.

2. Double-click on the Properties item in the Solution Explorer, select .NET Micro Framework on the left, and the under Deployment choose USB and in the Device drop down, choose your Netduino device:

   

3. Click the Start > button in the toolbar to deploy to your device.

The app should deploy and after a moment, the LED should start blinking on the Netduino:


Visual Studio for Mac

1. Make sure your Netduino is plugged in. It should show up in the build bar at the top:

   

2. Hit the ">" button to deploy.

The app should deploy and after a moment, the LED should start blinking on the Netduino:


You should also see the debug output in the **Application Output** window:

Deploy: Deploying assemblies to device
Deploy: Deploying assemblies for a total size of 560 bytes
Deploy: Assemblies successfully deployed to device.

...
Looping0
Looping1
Looping2
Looping3

Next - Check out Netduino.Foundation

Netduino.Foundation makes creating Netduino applications easier by providing a huge library of hardware peripheral drivers and a handcrafted API to use them. Check it out at Netduino.Foundation.

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