/diy/, How does someone get into IC programming?

Reading datasheets.

>>1168242
Simple circuits require no programming. If you want to program an actual microcontroller like an arduino then I suggest looking at the various manuals.

Need a more specific question

Your pic shows a 555 timer. If that's what you're looking for, you need to understand resistors and capicitors.

"programming" involves microcontrollers like arduino and you'd need some programming knowledge and a basic understanding of ones and zeros.

Either way, understanding ohm's law and how Voltage, Current, and Resistance interact is a first step.

What is it you want to do?

>>1168242
555 is a timer IC, it's completely implemented by transistors (or logic gates). If you need to prototype ICs, the best course of action is buying a developer FPGA board. You'll need to be pretty well versed in boolean logic, though you should be able to simplify a few levels of logic just in most FPGA development environments. They work in terms of VHDL or Verilog (the latter of which is more popular) so you'll need to learn that.

If you are referring to microcontroller programming it will depend on instruction set. The majority of people will be familiar with AVR (which is rolled up in Arduino sketches) or ARM with real time software rolled on it, but it can be overbuilt for your task. For simpler tasks like a calculator or something or a simple stepper to move a solar panel and take one input, the PIC24 or Texas Instrument MSP will be better (depending on sensitivity of the task). Just choose a chip and learn the instruction set. These days it's more efficient to get Arduinos individually because Chinese knock-offs are produced literally dime a dozen.

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>>1168242
Dang. Is that one of the old radio shack books? I remember those.

Also, programming is a nebulous term. As far as chips like a 555 or other simple things go, you can have a "program resistor" that sets a parameter of the chip. I guess choosing different resistor values could be considered 'programming'

Otherwise, programming is what everyone else in this thread is talking about.

>>1168242
If you're talking micro-controllers, this is where I got my start.

>http://www.nerdkits.com/

It includes all of the parts and guides you need to get started. Of course with a little googling you could just source this stuff for yourself and be off. But if you're looking for an all in one package to learn from, I considered it pretty good.

Just for reference, the chips you would be using in that kit are atmel chips. So they are considered in the category of AVR as outlined by this guy >>1168294

>>1168242
>>1168242

http://www.picaxe.com/

Also

http://www.picaxe.com/Software/PICAXE/Blockly-for-PICAXE/

Free to download both and gives a great start into programming at home.