There are different ways to program the ESP8266, but I'll only cover the method using the Arduino IDE. This is really easy for beginners, and it's a very familiar environment if you've used Arduino boards before. Just keep in mind that it's not limited to this option: there's also an official SDK available to program it in real C, this is very useful if you want to optimize your code or do some advanced tricks that aren't supported by the Arduino IDE. Another possibility is to flash it with a LUA interpreter, so you can upload and run LUA scripts. Or maybe you're more familiar with Python? Then you should check out the MicroPython firmware to interpret MicroPython scripts. I'm sure there's other languages available as well, so just do a quick Google search and write your code in the language of your choice.
This is a step-by-step course to get you building cool Arduino projects even with no prior experience! This Arduino course is a compilation of 25 projects divided into 5 Modules that you can build by following clear step-by-step instructions with schematics and downloadable code. Click the figure below to check out the course.
This eBook is a compilation of some of my most popular Arduino projects. For more Arduino projects, take a look at our Arduino project’s repository. I encourage you to watch some of the video demonstrations. Some of my projects are easier to understand if you can see the circuit in action. This eBook has the purpose to inspire you create something amazing with electronics and programing. After you create something cool, I hope you share it with others. That’s the whole goal of this awesome community. To all my readers, thank you for your interest in my work. I really appreciate it! Have fun with your projects, Rui Santos P.S. Make sure you visit my website to see the latest projects