Although the Arduino IDE gives us an open-source and free method of easily creating and uploading code to our Arduino or compatible boards, it is preset to optimise the size of the code sent to the microcontroller. The downside of this is that the code may not be the most efficient, and trade-offs can be made between code size and performance.
How can this be done? Thanks to Instructables member Bodmer who has investigated the five speed/size options available with the GCC compiler used by the IDE. These comparisons result with some very interesting data - such as an increase in sketch execution speed of around 33% with a resulting increase in code size of 25%. Naturally your results will vary however with this guide you can work on your own optimisations.
To get started, visit the informative Instructable page. And for more, we're on facebook, Google+, and twitter - so follow us for news and product updates as well.
If you've reached the limit of speed-optimisation of your code - it's time to go faster with an Arduino Due-compatible board. Here at Freetronics we have the EtherDue - which has more connectivity possibilities and options than the original:
It's the Arduino Due-compatible board with the Freetronics additions including Ethernet network connectivity, MAC address chip, microSD storage, optional PoE, upgraded power supply and more - while retaining the simplicity and ease of the Arduino IDE (with 100% compatibility). And you still have a full USB interface for uploading sketches and direct programming. For more information on this powerful board, check out the EtherDue product page.
