Arduino Code
Let’s use code to make an LED blink! This mini project will get you oriented to the UNO, the IDE, and the code that makes it do stuff.
Code; Integrated Development Environment
For this project all we need is an UNO board, a USB cable, and the IDE.
The Arduino IDE is our “Integrated Development Environment” –> an application that allows you to edit/write code, compile it, and send it to Arduino devices. This mini project introduces some of the features of the IDE and can help you test to ensure everything is set up correctly on your computer.
First Arduino Program
-
Open Arduino Software IDE.
-
Click
File
>Examples
>01.Basics
>Blink
. This will open a new window with the Blink program. These built in examples are a great way to learn. You don’t need to write code from scratch: borrow. That is the power of code!“Sketches” are programs written using the Arduino IDE. Each is saved in its own folder and has the extension
.ino
. - Take a first look at the code:
//
means the line is a comment. The computer will ignore it - humans only! Multiple line comments are enclosed between/*
and*/
. For example,/* this is a comment */
- Each Arduino program is made of two functions,
setup()
andloop()
. Code in thesetup()
runs one time when the board starts up. Next, code in theloop()
runs and then repeats until you pull out the plug!
-
Plug your USB cable into your UNO and computer.
-
On IDE, click
Tools
>Board
>Arduino UNO
to set up the correct board. -
Click
Tools
>Port
and select the port where your UNO appears. For example, you might seem something like “COM9 (Arduino Uno)”. The number differs depending on where you computer mounts it. -
Click the
Upload
arrow icon. The IDE will verify, compile, and upload your program to the UNO. Any errors will appear in the console window below the text editor. - Take a closer look at
Blink
:pinMode()
is a set up function that tells our board to use a specific pin as an output or input.LED_BUILTIN
is a special variable that refers to a LED built in to a board.digitalWrite()
is like a switch:HIGH
= on,LOW
= off.delay()
is a timer that make the program wait. The delay is given in milliseconds.
- Mod this code! Change the delay times or add more on/off’s, then click the upload arrow to get it running on your board. Congrats: you are a programmer!
The Arduino IDE v1 was based on the “sketchbook” created for Processing and Wiring, platforms originally designed for creating interactive projects in the visual arts.
The Arduino programming language is a set of libraries in C and C++ designed for the boards. Arduino IDE hides some of the complexity of setting up, but be proud that you are writing C/C++ code!