Arduino is an open source platform for building electronics projects. Arduino consists of a physically programmable circuit board (often called a microcontroller) and software (IDE - Integrated Development Environment).
Open source software program
The Arduino IDE is an open source software program that allows users to write code on your PC and upload it to the microcontroller. The code is then executed on the Arduino microcontroller accordingly.
The Arduino platform is very popular with people who are just getting started with electronics. Unlike most previous programmable circuit boards, the Arduino does not require separate hardware (called a programmer) to upload new code to the board. You can simply use a USB cable and connect the microcontroller to the PC.
In addition, the Arduino IDE uses a simplified version of C ++ to make programming easier. Finally, Arduino provides a standard form factor that divides the microcontroller's functions into a more accessible package.
Main functions and applications
The Arduino IDE can be implemented in Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. Most components are written in JavaScript for easy editing and compilation. While the main focus is on writing codes, there are some other features worth mentioning. It has been equipped with a way to share all the details with other project stakeholders.
Users can change internal layouts and schemas as needed. There are detailed help manuals that will come in handy during the initial installation. Tutorials are also available for those who may not have significant experience with the Arduino framework.
The Arduino IDE is incredibly minimalistic, but provides a nearly complete environment for most Arduino-based projects. The top menu bar contains the standard options, including "File" (New, Load, Save, etc.), "Edit" (Font, Copy, Paste, etc.), "Sketch" (for compiling and programming), "Tools" (useful options for testing projects) and "Help". The middle section of the IDE is a simple text editor where you can type the program code. The bottom section of the IDE is dedicated to an output window that displays the status of the compilation, the memory used, any errors found in the program and various other useful messages.
Arduino IDE - Download
First of all, you need to download and install the IDE. Start by visiting the Arduino software page. The IDE is available for most popular operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Therefore, download the correct version for your operating system. If you are using Windows 7 or older, do not download the Windows app version, as this requires Windows 8.1 or Windows 10.
After the installer is downloaded, install the IDE. You should enable all options of the installer, including USB drivers and libraries. Please read the EULA before doing so.
The free Arduino IDE can be downloaded from the official Arduino page!
