I just tried linking in a larger library, SdFat, with multiple directories, using junctions (mklink /j <target> <source>). I've spent about 30 minutes fighting with Eclipse to build/link the thing, and it's still not working. Gonna give ParticleIO VSCode a shot for the next 30 minutes, to change the pace.

Just installed the SDFat library via PlatformIO library manager. 

Yep, everything is moved over now and working, using PlatformIO's version of the SdFat and QuickStats libraries. Thanks Peter!

This is a really good description of Eclipse setup. Thanks!

I have never used Eclipse, but i use NetBeans and having a good IDE is immensely helpful. I have not got to the point in my project where I am looking at whether the Arduino IDE is enough to do the coding, But I will definitely be looking into Eclipse if I find it is not.

I had trouble adding a library that wasn't in the Arduino Downloads Manager, so I wrote about it here: Using Private Arduino Libraries with Eclipse.

Tyler,

I was in the same boat looking for a more robust alternative to the Arduino IDE so your post Switching from the Arduino IDE to Eclipse came at the right time. Eclipse is a great IDE and I was happy to hear there was an Arduino extension. I followed your directions as well as watching Doug Schaefer’s video demonstration. 

I was also frustrated by the shortcomings in the Eclipse C++ IDE for Arduino that you mention in this blog post. The steps necessary to include your own libraries makes the product feel like a not-fully-baked solution.

I just posted a summary of my IDE explorations and the solution I think I’m going to go with. I’d be interested to get your take on this.

 Thanks for your helpful information…

Peter

Nicely written Tyler. As for your article on control theory, is control theory onerous math ... and avoidable?  What applications do we need control theory for ... and why is it so vital?

Thank you.

Control theory does get into pretty gnarly math. Laplace and z-Transforms combined with linear algebra (non-linear if you're a masochist). You don't need it for this course, and can avoid it for many applications, even some of those that use a control system. That's what PID Without a PhD is all about. I've been trying to write a blog post all week that derives the optimal PID coefficients for moving my robotic arm, but have been stumped by the math to the point of giving up on that approach. (And I've already done a fair amount of that type of math before, having taken control systems courses.) The theory is important when you need to improve control performance.

Check out Tableau software for your Excel data, Tyler. 

Jon,

I appreciate your sharing this article. And, I agree, the results are completely consistent with other related research (and Self Determination Theory).

I wanted to add that there is also this Catch-22 in the mix potentially as well. Students who are extrinsically motivated tend to dislike a course that does not exactly fit their ideas of how a course should be organized, thereby idisincentivizing instructors who are seeking more rigor or depth or an innovative design. For me, It is all part of how you say:

We - the educators and, above all, the educational system - are the cause of cheating, as much as we are the victims of it. And we are the ones that should fix it.

Very true - it's horribly self-reinforcing. Our educational systems tend to teach people how not to learn and, like drug pushers, to make students into grade addicts, ideally having grades mainlined via a process that demands least thought and effort to get the purest possible hit (cheating is a high-risk self-destructive shortcut, but it's totally understandable how and why it happens).

To be fair, it's the whole system, not just educational institutions, that creates the addiction, and students themselves are part of that as well as employers, professional bodies, families, etc, etc.  It's a big, wicked, deeply entangled, complex problem to solve. We can patch things up locally but the problem is inherent in the design. I think that mandatory decoupling of grades and learning would go a long way towards fixing things, not because it is the answer in itself, but because the rest of the house of cards sits on top of that.

I completely agree that the whole system is the problem. I find myself mostly doing the work of trying to patch a system that is inherently flawed if not completely broken.

Separating grades and learning would make a big difference.