Introduction to Third-Party Development Environments

In addition to the official ESP-IDF development environment, which primarily uses the C language, ESP32-C3 also supports other mainstream programming languages and a wide range of third-party development environments. Some notable options include:

Arduino:

an open-source platform for both hardware and software, supporting various microcontrollers, including ESP32-C3.

It uses the C++ language and offers a simplified and standardised API, commonly referred to as the Arduino language. Arduino is widely used in prototype development and educational contexts. It provides an extensible software package and an IDE that allows for easy compilation and flashing.

MicroPython:

a Python 3 language interpreter designed to run on embedded microcontroller platforms.

With a simple script language, it can directly access ESP32-C3's peripheral resources (such as UART, SPI, and I2C) and communication functions (such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE). This simplifies hardware interaction. MicroPython, combined with Python's extensive mathematical operation library, enables the implementation of complex algorithms on ESP32-C3, facilitating the development of AI-related applications. As a script language, there is no need for repeated compilation; modifications can be made and scripts can be executed directly.

NodeMCU:

an LUA language interpreter developed for ESP series chips.

It supports almost all peripheral functions of ESP chips and is lighter than MicroPython. Similar to MicroPython, NodeMCU uses a script language, eliminating the need for repeated compilation.

Furthermore, ESP32-C3 also supports the NuttX and Zephyr operating systems. NuttX is a real-time operating system that provides POSIX-compatible interfaces, enhancing application portability. Zephyr is a small real-time operating system specifically designed for IoT applications. It includes numerous software libraries required in IoT development, gradually evolving into a comprehensive software ecosystem.

This book does not provide detailed installation instructions for the aforementioned development environments. You can install a development environment based on your requirements by following the respective documentation and instructions.