ESP8266 Programming with VS Code

on 5 May 2024

Summary

ESP8266 modules are cheap and flexible microcontrollers. They can be purchased easily on AliExpress (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006211265531.html) or elsewhere. They are one of many types of Arduino compatible microcontrollers.

VS Code is a Microsoft IDE that is common across the industry – https://code.visualstudio.com/

The below page focuses on the requirements to program the module in Linux.

Plug-in

To program an Arduino style unit with VS Code, you’ll need the Arduino extension (Marketplace Link: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vsciot-vscode.vscode-arduino). Once installed, it will prompt for the Arduino CLI, choose to use the “built in” CLI at this point.

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Install and Manage Node.js with NVM

on 19 Aug 2023

Installation Steps

Download and run the installation file:

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.4/install.sh | bash

Exit the terminal session then reopen a terminal so that the environment changes take effect. Then run:

nvm -v

to ensure NVM is installed correctly.

Using NVM

Install the latest Node version with:

nvm install node

Install a specific version with:

nvm install 16

or for a more specific version:

nvm install 14.4.5

List the installed versions with:

nvm ls

Switch to an installed version with:

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Zsh Making Shells Fun

on 27 Jun 2023

ZSH is a great looking shell that integrates with Git, Docker and other tools using plugins.

Installing ZSH in Ubuntu or Linux Mint

Install ZSH by running the following in your terminal

sudo apt update
sudo apt install zsh

Check ZSH by running zsh --version and checking that a version is shown.

Installing ZSH on Mac

Install Homebrew, then install iTerm2, which allows for further customisation.

brew cask install iterm2

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Converting Heic To Jpg In Linux

on 17 Dec 2022

With each revision of hardware, Apple continually makes this more difficult for those that have to interact with Apple fans. One of the most annoying is the HEIC format for photos. Even Apple’s own Photos app in iCloud won’t allow HEIC photo uploads, so to make any of these photo useful the HEIC files need to be converted to JPEG form (.JPG).

Normally people take a lot of photos, so the conversion of the files is best done in bulk. Here are some tips for dealing with these bulk files.

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