The Arduino family is quite popular for implementing complex project ideas that involve circuitry, IoT, and robotics. Despite being mistaken for SBCs like the Raspberry Pi series, the Arduino boards are microcontrollers, and there’s a world of difference between both lineups.

Their dissimilarities also extend to the software aspect, with the Arduino boards featuring a completely different initialization procedure than SBCs. Although configuring them is far simpler than it may seem, setting it up can be rather challenging for first-time users. So, here’s a detailed guide to help you get started with programming your Arduino.

What do you need to program an Arduino board?

Unlike the Raspberry Pi or other SBCs, which can boot into any compatible OS image, the Arduino boards require an entirely different approach. Since these systems aren’t equipped with SD card slots, there’s no way to install an operating system for the Arduino family. Instead, you’ll need to connect the boards to a PC and upload codes written in C++ to the microcontroller with the help of the Arduino IDE.

This makes a USB cable a necessity when setting up your Arduino. We’ll be using an Arduino Uno that uses a USB Type-B port, which is the same as the one on Arduino Mega. Meanwhile, Leonardo, Due, Nano, MKR, and other small-sized boards possess a mini-USB socket, and you can go through the list of Arduino boards on the official website to identify the specific cable you’ll need for your microcontroller.

• Arduino Uno REV3

  $28 at Arduino

• Amazon Basics USB-A to USB-B 2.0 Cable

  $10 at Amazon

How to set up an Arduino board using your PC?

Once you've purchased the USB cable compatible with your Arduino, you'll need to configure the official IDE to interface the microcontroller with your PC. To do so,

1. Grab the latest version of the Arduino IDE from this link, and unzip the folder once it has finished downloading.
2. Run the Arduino IDE.exe file as an administrator.
3. Click on Allow access if Windows Firewall prevents the IDE from accessing your private network.
4. Choose Install when Windows Security prompts you to install the Arduino USB driver.
5. While the Arduino IDE installs the necessary packages on your PC, plug one end of the USB cable into your PC and the other into the USB Type-B/micro-USB port of your Arduino board.
6. Switch to your PC and click on the Tools header inside the Arduino IDE.
7. Hover your cursor over Boards, then Arduino AVR Boards, and select your Arduino model from the list.
8. Once again, click on Tools, hover your cursor over Port, and choose the serial COM port that shows up.

Although optional, I suggest running the Blink script that’s included in the IDE to confirm whether the Arduino is connected to your PC.

1. Click on File, navigate to the Basics tab within Examples, and click on Blink.
2. Press the Upload button inside the new IDE window.
3. You’ll know the connection was successful when the IDE displays the Upload Successful message and one of the built-in LEDs on your Arduino starts blinking.

Turning the low-power Arduino into a DIY marvel with the power of coding

With that, you’re free to build, compile, and upload all your code to the Arduino. The Arduino boards possess some memory of their own, so once you’ve uploaded your program to the microcontroller, you can disconnect it from your PC and the Arduino will run the code the moment you plug it into another suitable power supply.

But if you’re just browsing for some easy projects that don’t require a lot of coding or circuitry usage, then you might want to hold off on using the Arduino. There's quite a lot of overlap between SBC and microcontroller projects, so it might be a good idea to kick off your tinkering journey with a Raspberry Pi instead.