Why does "blink" show as a command?

[Fintek]

I tried using the word "blink" in the Arduino IDE (1.8, not 2.0) and it turns red as if it was a command. But it isn't.... was it at one time? What would be the syntax?

 

[Pommie]

So it does, very strange, any idea what it does?

Mike.

 

[danadak]

Command was used over here :

5 different ways to Blink an LED using Arduino (+ Bonus)

Learn about the internals of the Arduino Uno microcontroller by looking at 5 different approaches for a seemingly simple task: blinking an LED!

blog.wokwi.com

Regards, Dana.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Command was used over here :

5 different ways to Blink an LED using Arduino (+ Bonus)

Learn about the internals of the Arduino Uno microcontroller by looking at 5 different approaches for a seemingly simple task: blinking an LED!

blog.wokwi.com

Regards, Dana.

As far as I could see 'blink' is just used as an array in that example, and not a command.

Blink is the standard test program for Arduino's, and usually comes pre-loaded to prove it works - so it 'migt' be a reserved word because of that?.

However, there's a text file "lib/keywords.txt" which is used to colour reserved words etc. but 'blink' isn't listed there. Perhaps it may be used somewhere in one of the libraries?, or it's reserved elsewhere?.

From the link above, if you enter blink as an array it's also highlighted as a reserved word, but seems to compile fine. Whereas blank isn't highlighted. Presumably it must be listed 'somewhere', so I would advise not using it - as it might cause an issue if it clashing with something - however, as it compiles OK then it 'might not' be an issue, but why risk it?.

 

[augustinetez]

"blink" is a command in the LCD library.

Better off not using it for general usage.

 

[Pommie]

In the examples I and Nigel show above, no libraries are included so it's part of the standard code. No idea what.

Mike.