Creating a loop in Arduino IOT Cloud

@bob2bot You will need to change the logic so that the onButtonChange loops using a standard do while 1 type of construct (see arduino.cc docs) If you are going to use the same button to turn off the leds, then you need a standard state change statement like leds = -leds upon entry to the button change event.

You probably already know that code will get overwritten if you allow the automatic tools to have their way. Once you get it working as I described, you should decouple the onchange event and the bulk of the code. What I mean is put the looping and led on off code in it's own procedure NOT connected to any dashboard parts and the pushbutton code then just calls that new procedure each time it is pressed. Make the led state a local static init to off.

Posted by: @bob2bot

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I enjoyed your tutorial on how to use the IOT cloud and created a simple dashboard that turns an LED on and off using the switch in the dashboard. I want the LED to turn on/off repeatedly but it only cycles once. How do I get it to loop continuously until the switch is turned off. Here is my code.

 

As Ron explained, you'll need to change your code to perform the blinking while it waits for the next press of the button.

Add the following to the beginning of your sketch (with the other declarations)

bool            LED_FLASH = false;        // Is LED flashing (on)
unsigned long   lastFlash=0;              // Time flash started/ended
unsigned long   flashDuration = 500;      // Duration of each flash

Add this routine between setup() and loop()

void flashLED() {
  if (!bUTTON)                            // If button is off
    return;                               // Just go away
  //
  if (millis()-lastFlash>flashDuration) { // If state existed for duration
    LED_FLASH = !LED_FLASH;               // Change state
    digitalWrite(LEDPIN,LED_FLASH);       // Reset LED pin
    lastFlash = millis();                 // Reset time for new state
  }
}

Change your loop() to 

void loop() {
  flashLED();  
}

Change your button change routine to

/*
  Since BUTTON is READ_WRITE variable, onBUTTONChange() is
  executed every time a new value is received from IoT Cloud.
*/
void onBUTTONChange() {
  // Add your code here to act upon BUTTON change
  Serial.println(bUTTON);
  if (bUTTON) {                             // If button is on
    lastFlash = millis();                   // Force flash to start
    LED_FLASH = HIGH;                       // Start with LED HIGH
  } else {
    digitalWrite(LEDPIN,LOW);
  }
}

And see if that does what you want. You can change the flash duration by setting flashDuration to the time delay you need.

@bob2bot

Ignore my post, Ron has explained to me that the onBUTTONChange routine is auto-generated and so can't be replaced as I had suggested 🙁

@bob2bot 

Yup. basically Arduino has two main functions.  1 to set up and initialize everything and 1 to loop through a set of code.  "setup()" and "loop()".

Th On onBUTTONChange albeit part of a libray can be copied out into your loop() section where you can more control of the button presses.  There should be plenty of example in Googleland on how to create this functionality.  I'm not sure, but I'm not entirely sure if the micro controller actually has Interrupt control, but may be mimicked. 

But, I'd be curious what you find.   My lab is is undergoing renovations, so I'm separated from my toys.

@mrremedy The onBUTTONChange procedure is NOT code the OP wrote, it is generated from the Arduino Cloud. Moving it will simply mean a second copy will then get created. He needs to change the object type to a simple bool and then in the loop do the led manipulation etc as I previously said.

Thanks guys, I will check out Google and other sources. -

@bob2bot Best to read the Arduino IOT docs first. This is a very different dev environment.

BTW, when replying, use the reply link at the bottom right of the post you are replying to, that way that person gets an email that they have a response. You can also add additional recipients via the standard @name paradigm.

I copied the if/else code from the onBUTTONChange function generated by the IOT cloud and pasted it into the loop function and it works fine. Thanks for your help guys. - Bob

@Ron I stand corrected.  🙂