Push buttons

Introduction

A push button is a simple input device that is used to control an electronic system. It is a type of switch that is activated by pressing it. When the button is pressed, it makes an electrical connection and sends a signal to the system. Push buttons are commonly used in applications such as keyboards, remote controls, and other devices that require user input.

Pin Description

A push button has two pins. When the button is pressed, it makes an electrical connection between the two pins, which sends a signal to the system. You can connect the push button to a digital pin on a microcontroller to read the state of the button. You can use a pull-up or pull-down resistor to ensure that the pin has a defined state when the button is not pressed.

Most push buttons have 4 pins, these are internally connected.

Code Example

The following code example demonstrates how to read the state of a push button using an Arduino board.

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#define BUTTON_PIN 2 // define the button pin

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600); // start serial communication at 9600 bps
  pinMode(BUTTON_PIN, INPUT_PULLUP); // set the button pin as input with pull-up resistor
}

void loop() {
  int buttonState = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN); // read the state of the button
  Serial.println(buttonState); // print the state to the serial port
  delay(100); // wait for 100ms
}

(This example uses the Serial library to print the button state to the serial port. You can view the output using the Serial Monitor in the Arduino IDE.)