Mastermind Game #3: Getting started with the code

ARDUINO: Allright, now that all is well planned out, it's time to flesh it out a bit by means of actual wiring up stuff, and write the code to run it. It'll all be done in steps adding one feature after the other in separate writeups so as to not get ahead of myself.

Today, the basic structure of the code and getting the buttons to work as intended. First off I believe the source code of this project to get rather big - in Arduino terms - so I've split it up into three files so as to be easier to navigate.

- mastermind.ino
The main file. Contains all the various definitions, setup and loop. Note here that I've structured it in such a way that loop() will never actually do just that. Inside it I got some initializations, and then an endless loop using a while(true){} loop to take care of business resetting values on new game and then get the game going. The game-loop itself is separated out into a separate function

- chores.ino
Contains various helper-functions to make it all work as intended. This is where most the logic work is done. Keeping up with and setting state, feed data to and from structs and arrays. You know, all the fun stuff.

- inOut.ino
The nuts and bolts level of the operation. Reading buttons, control the shift-register to change LED output and such. If there is something to be done with the actual hardware, this is where it'll be at.

Github repo for this stage.

Mind you, when using several files like this - it do not work quite as in other more 'professional' development environments. The extra files are not packages unto themselves that are fully enclosed bar the functionality and structures you make public for export. No, in the Arduino IDE it just means that at compile time, the IDE will collate all the files in the project, and treat them combined as one big file rather than several smaller.

So whilst you do not have to worry about transporting data around or import supporting files - you pay for it in lack of encapsulation and separate name-spaces.

In its' current state, it'll read the buttons, and allow navigation to change colours of the players guess and proceed to the next stage.

Breadboard wiring for this stage:

Using button left and right you traverse the LEDs. Hitting button select, you change color 0..5 by hitting button left and right. When happy with the choice, hitting button select will take you back to traversing the LEDs again. When traversing, one can also get to the 'next stage' option by being off the right 'edge' of LEDs.

Mind you, no LEDs are actually hooked up yet, so everything is 'emulated' by dumping the values of internal state to the Serial-monitor.

The next update will flesh out some more functionality. Probably the random assignment of colours to the game solution - and the routine to check the players guess up towards the generated solution, and display the result.