Guides to microcontroller programming and platforms. Covers Arduino boards, programming basics with the Arduino IDE, microcontroller architecture, and different programming approaches including graphical tools, C/C++, and Python.
If you have never written Arduino code before, this is where to start. I walk through installing the IDE, explain how setup() and loop() work, and cover the basic building blocks you will use in every sketch. By the end, you will have built three small projects with wiring diagrams and working code.
There are a lot of ways to program a microcontroller, and picking the right one depends on what you are building and how comfortable you are with code. This post breaks down the main options: drag-and-drop tools like Scratch, writing C/C++ in the Arduino IDE or PlatformIO, using MicroPython, and working with professional IDEs like MPLAB or Keil.
Arduino is an open source electronics platform built around the ATmega328P chip. If you are new to this, I explain what a microcontroller actually is, how the Arduino board and its software fit together, and what the differences are between boards like the Uno, Mega, Nano, and Leonardo so you can figure out which one to get.