A tutorial on interfacing LCDs (liquid crystal displays) with Arduino. We take a look at libraries and the role they play…and the potential issues, errors and troubleshooting involved.
We look at several types of displays but concentrate on the 4×20 Sparkfun serial enabled LCD display.

SparkFun kit from my Amazon Store:
http://astore.amazon.com/m0711-20?_en…

A link to the SparkSoftLCD library for the Arduino by C. A. Church – fixes issue with float variables on serial enabled LCD displays:
http://mjlorton.com/forum/index.php?t…

Link to new Arduino software / IDE 1.0.5:
http://arduino.cc/en/main/software

Link to the LiquidCrystal library with examples and wiring:
http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/LiquidC…

Link to the SparkFun SerLCD 2.5 datasheet:
https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/L…

Link to the Hitachi HD44780U dot-matrix liquid crystal display controller datasheet:
https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/L…

SparkFun LCD displays:
https://www.sparkfun.com/categories/7…

How to install Arduino libraries / Installing Additional Arduino Libraries:
http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Libraries

How to create a library for Arduino / Writing a Library for Arduino:
http://arduino.cc/en/Hacking/LibraryT…

Troubleshooting compiling errors:
error: WConstants.h: No such file or directory
error: Wires.h: No such file or directory
Change / point library to Arduino.h