Even easier, in a way... a Parallax Propeller and program in SPIN (their proprietary structured BASIC-like language), or C++ etc. Exotic, but simpler mental mo

Even easier, in a way... a Parallax Propeller and program in SPIN (their proprietary structured BASIC-like language), or C++ etc. Exotic, but simpler mental model for most people. 8 independent cores and a simple non-interrupt driven programming model for doing basic timing and I/O with any of the 32 pins configurable for either input or output. And super easy to interface both 3v and 5v, available in DIP, and in various easy format boards.