How does Arduino IDE work and How to use Arduino IDE to make projects

Arduino IDE

The Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a cross-platform application (for Windows, macOS, Linux) that is written in functions from C and C++. It is used to write and upload programs to Arduino compatible boards, but also, with the help of 3rd party cores, other vendor development boards.

The Arduino IDE supplies a software library from the Wiring project, which provides many common input and output procedures. User-written code only requires two basic functions, for starting the sketch and the main program loop, that are compiled and linked with a program stub main() into an executable cyclic executive program with the GNU toolchain, also included with the IDE distribution. The Arduino IDE employs the program avrdude to convert the executable code into a text file in hexadecimal encoding that is loaded into the Arduino board by a loader program in the board's firmware.

Some frequenty asked Questions you may have

How can I run the Arduino IDE under Linux?

See instructions for Ubuntu Linux, for Debian Linux, for Gentoo Linux, for Linux, or for Linux on PPC. This this forum thread has more information. Or, you can use Arduino from the command line, and not have to install Java. 

Can I program the Arduino board in C?

In fact, you already are; the Arduino language is merely a set of C/C++ functions that can be called from your code. Your sketch undergoes minor changes (e.g. automatic generation of function prototypes) and then is passed directly to a C/C++ compiler (avr-g++). All standard C and C++ constructs supported by avr-g++ should work in Arduino. For more details, see the page on the Arduino build process. 

Can I use a different IDE to program the Arduino board?

It is possible to compile programs for the Arduino using other build tools (e.g. Makefiles and/or AVR Studio). You'll need to configure these to link against the appropriate files in the Arduino core libraries. See the description of the Arduino build process. 

Can I use an Arduino board without the Arduino software?

Sure. It's just an AVR development board, you can use straight AVR C or C++ (with avr-gcc and avrdude or AVR Studio) to program it. 

Can I program an Arduino board without the Arduino IDE?

Yes, you can use Create web editor to program your board without the need of download the classic IDE.

Can I use the Arduino software with other AVR boards?

Yes, although it may require some modifications to the Arduino core libraries.  

Where is the troubleshooting section?

These questions have moved to the troubleshooting section of the Arduino guide.