The Elusive Wire Library: A Non-Blocking Solution for Master Mode

When it comes to serial communication in Arduino, the Wire library is a staple tool in every developer's toolkit. However, when working with master mode, the traditional requestFrom and endTransmission functions can become cumbersome and restrictive. This article proposes a solution to this problem by introducing non-blocking functions that would revolutionize the way we work with the Wire library.

The Wire library has already made significant strides in slave mode with the onReceive and onRequest functions. These functions allow developers to create more sophisticated communication protocols, but they fall short when it comes to master mode. This is where the proposed solution comes into play.

Imagine being able to request data from a slave device without having to wait for the transfer to complete. Imagine being able to continue executing your code while the data is being transferred in the background. This is exactly what our non-blocking extension would provide.

The idea is simple: introduce two new functions, requestFrom and endTransmission, that would accept an optional function parameter. When given a function to call, requestFrom would immediately return, allowing your code to continue executing while the transfer is underway. The provided function would then be called when the transfer completes, giving you fine-grained control over the communication process.

To illustrate this concept, consider the following example:

```javascript

Wire.requestFrom(address, length, true, myfunction);

```

In this scenario, requestFrom would immediately return, allowing your code to continue executing. When the transfer is complete, myfunction would be called, giving you a chance to process the received data.

This non-blocking extension would not only improve the usability of the Wire library but also make it more efficient and flexible. By allowing developers to write non-blocking code, we can create more complex and responsive applications that take full advantage of the capabilities of the Arduino platform.

The benefits of this proposal extend beyond just the Wire library itself. By adopting a non-blocking approach, we can create a more cohesive and compatible API across different libraries and frameworks. This would make it easier for developers to work together and share knowledge, ultimately leading to better software in the long term.

In conclusion, our proposed non-blocking extension to the Wire library has the potential to revolutionize the way we develop serial communication protocols on Arduino. By introducing two new functions that accept optional function parameters, we can create more efficient, flexible, and responsive applications that take full advantage of the capabilities of the platform.

Wire library not working with serial