arduino_midi_library

That makes me wonder how often one runs across a synth that doesn't support running status. I'm working on a MIDI controller myself, and that's a thing I probably ought to enable if I want the lowest latency. It seems the standard MIDI libraries that Arduino uses don't enable it by default, but it's a configuration option you can turn on, along with a note not to try to use it with USB[1]. [1] https://github.com/FortySevenEffects/arduino_midi_library/bl...

Aside from the music applications, MIDI is a great protocol to tinker with for beginners who wish to exchange data between a microcontroller [1] and a computer, because of its simplicity. [1] https://github.com/FortySevenEffects/arduino_midi_library

The Arduino MIDI Library [1]. Back in 2008, I learned C++ to control my guitar effects pedals with custom electronics as part of my engineering degree. It kickstarted my career into tech and open source. Members of the community do all sorts of crazy things [2] with it. [1] https://github.com/FortySevenEffects/arduino_midi_library [2] https://diyelectromusic.wordpress.com/2020/09/19/introducing...

As others mentioned, PlatformIO is a good start. For those who are interested in building a library, here's my TravisCI workflow for unit testing & running examples on various platforms: https://github.com/FortySevenEffects/arduino_midi_library/bl...

One thing I've learned from maintaining an Arduino library [1] for the last 10+ years: make the API as simple as possible. Lots of people discover programming with Arduino, making the experience enjoyable for them requires abstracting a lot of things away. Things can be as complex as reasonable in the implementation, but providing helpers, macros & shortcuts (as well as good documentation and examples as stated in the blog post) makes the learning curve less steep. [1] https://github.com/FortySevenEffects/arduino_midi_library

One advantage that MIDI 1.0 had (and still holds) over USB is it's simplicity to implement on low power controllers and devices. I got into programming 12 years ago thanks to MIDI, I wanted to control some of my guitar pedals with an Arduino, and the simplicity of the protocol definitely contributed to helping me hack things together and learn. I'm not sure it would have been the case if I had to learn the contrived details of the USB stack just to send a simple ProgramChange message (2 bytes) to my pedal (which uses MIDI DIN plugs, no USB there). I can't wait to see how to get those 2.0 extensions into the library I built for Arduino [1]. Hopefully it will remain simple for newcomers to learn and enjoy programming by interacting with their musical instruments, like I did. [1] https://github.com/FortySevenEffects/arduino_midi_library