PREFACE
This book will serve both as an introduction to the STMicroelectronics line of STM32 microcontrollers (MCUs) and also as an easy-to-follow Getting Started Guide for readers interested in developing with a STM MCU. I will be using one of the very inexpensive STM Nucleo-64 development boards for all of the book projects, which should make it inviting for most readers to become involved with the hardware. In fact, doing the book demonstration projects is really the only way you can really be assured that you have gained a good comprehension of the material in this book.
I will state from the beginning that it is simply not possible to gain a total understanding of how a STM MCU functions by only reading this book. The manufacturer datasheets that describe individual STM MCUs are often over 1,000 pages in length, which describes the enormity of the task of trying to master the voluminous amount of information that describes these devices. Instead, the book contents focus on a few of the core components that make up a STM MCU and how to program those components to accomplish fairly simple tasks.
Some readers will have trepidation about starting to develop with what are typically considered professional grade MCUs. I wish to allay that fear and state that I have found that developing applications with at least one representative sample STM MCU to be remarkably easy and straightforward. In fact, I will state that in some aspects it is easier to develop with a STM MCU than with an Arduino or Raspberry Pi, which many readers will already be quite familiar and probably have already created projects with those boards.
Often, the single biggest issue with developing with MCUs is setting up a stable development toolchain. I will describe how to do this in a simple to follow, step-by-step process, which if you rigorously follow will guarantee that you will be able to quickly and without much trouble generate working binary programs. These programs will then be quickly downloaded into the development board for execution.