Does flashing ESP8266/ESP-01 firmware mean uploading a new 'sketch' and why different firmware?

Question

Hi I am new to IOT and I am now in love with this. However I'm a little confused right now with the jargon. My question is similar to this. But I do have some extra questions though.

1. When using ESP as standalone microcontroller, and if I uploaded a sketch written on the Arduino IDE, does that count as 'Arduino firmware' other people are referring to?

2. On the Arduino IDE, uploading sketches onto the ESP8266 seems easy by just installing extra libraries from Board Manager and selecting the right board. Is this step equivalent of doing this but for different firmwares such as AT, NodeMCU and Micropython?

3. For the NodeMCU dev boards, is the default firmware on the module NodeMCU firmware? If I were to use the Arduino IDE to upload a sketch, does that mean I have overwritten the NodeMCU firmware with my custom 'Arduino firmware' sketch?

4. To the extent of my knowledge, when using NodeMCU firmware, I would need to code in LUA language using some sort of LUA IDE and if I flashed/uploaded micropython I would need to code in micropython using exclusively the Thonny IDE. And there is no way to code in micropy or LUA from the Arduino IDE.

5. Is the reason for using other firmware is because of how the code is compiled and the language used?

If someone could clear things up for me I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Answer 1

When using ESP as standalone microcontroller, and if I uploaded a sketch written on the Arduino IDE, does that count as 'Arduino firmware' other people are referring to?

Yes. "Firmware" is application code running on the microcontroller.

On the Arduino IDE, uploading sketches onto the ESP8266 seems easy by just installing extra libraries from Board Manager and selecting the right board. Is this step equivalent of doing this but for different firmwares such as AT, NodeMCU and Micropython?

Yes. "Firmware" is application code running on the microcontroller.

For the NodeMCU dev boards, is the default firmware on the module NodeMCU firmware? If I were to use the Arduino IDE to upload a sketch, does that mean I have overwritten the NodeMCU firmware with my custom 'Arduino firmware' sketch?

Yes. "Firmware" is application code running on the microcontroller.

To the extent of my knowledge, when using NodeMCU firmware, I would need to code in LUA language using some sort of LUA IDE and if I flashed/uploaded micropython I would need to code in micropython using exclusively the Thonny IDE. And there is no way to code in micropy or LUA from the Arduino IDE.

No. The Arduino IDE is for coding in C++ with the Arduino API extensions.

Is the reason for using other firmware is because of how the code is compiled and the language used?

The firmware is just what runs on the chip. If that firmware provides its own programming language then you can use that to execute that programming language.

If you write your own firmware in the Arduino IDE then the chip runs that firmware. If you upload the AT firmware then the chip runs the AT firmware and you can control it with AT commands. If you upload the NodeMCU Lua firmware then the chip runs the NodeMCU Lua firmware and you control it using Lua commands and scripts.