Getting data from sensors/switches without a library?

[krishneel94]

Hi everyone! I'm Krish, brand new to the forums. So...I have a little experience with using switches and what not, but in all the cases I have done so I had a library that was provided by a professor to use. Now I am trying to do an independent project which will require me to use buttons and sensors but I have no clue how to code using them (in C++ at least, I'm told labview would make it easy) without a given library. Can anyone offer some help on this? Thanks!

[LB]

It depends entirely on the switches you are using. Look up the manufacturer and find their documentation.

[krishneel94]

So there is no general code I can use to operate any arbitrary switch? The switches I have are already installed on the board. What if I just find old switches and solder them to a board, there's no way to use them?

[LB]

C++ doesn't know anything about any devices on the computer. For all it knows there may not even be a keyboard or monitor. You need to look up your device documentation to see how to communicate with it - it is not possible with pure C++, so you will need to ask the operating system for help.

If you are compiling your program as a freestanding program instead of a hosted program (no operating system) you pwobably will be either using a library provided with your device, or you will be manually reading and writing preset memory addresses (better hope not).