ArduinoCore-API VS alpha-fairy

If you want to really learn it I'd recommend Bro Codes C guide, that'll make it easier to understand, his C++ guide is a bit longer but once you know C++ it's a matter of going to the Arduino references and looking for the function you need.

First, go to the Language Reference, which defines exactly what the commands do.

A great way to introduce yourself to the syntax of C/C++ and, more specifically the various functions and capabilities of the Arduino is to go through the documentation's Reference page on the company's website and read through each function and keyword. By the end of the page you'll have a solid overview of the capabilities of the platform and a certain amount of familiarity on how to use them.

You need a Serial.begin and a Serial.println to see something on the Serial monitor. Have a look at the documentation or some sample programs to see these statements. If you don't have Serial.print statements, nothing will display because you are not asking for anything to be displayed. As for the gibberish when you reset, it is possible these are remnants from an old program. Make sure the value supply to begin matches your serial monitor's baud rate setting (i.e. 9600 from your original post).

You might want to have a look at the documentation.

If you study the Arduino Language Reference, you'll find |=, <<, >>.

The arduino documentation is (or was back when i did a lot of work with arduinos) very thorough. Book mark the reference material https://www.arduino.cc/reference/en/ its very handy to have close at hand.

Arduino Reference - Arduino Reference what i usually scroll through to get me through any projects and i started off same place as you not knowing anything about coding and it got me through most of the projects i started. best to just keep making mistakes though and eventually the sketch will compile.

You can find what you need to start programming with Arduino on this page: https://www.arduino.cc/reference/en/

the project is here https://github.com/frank26080115/alpha-fairy

If you have some electronic handy skills, this is an option that I recently came across (not Godox though), but if you're a pro you might just get the official Sony remote and leave it at that.

My personal blog post about it: https://eleccelerator.com/alpha-fairy-wireless-camera-remote/ , it's a longer read than this reddit post summary

It's built on a M5StickC-Plus, which is a ESP32 plus a screen, 3 buttons, and other sensors. The code is written on top of arduino-esp32. All of the source code and build instructions are on https://github.com/frank26080115/alpha-fairy