2 Getting Started Having introduced the Arduino, and learnt a little about what it is that we are
programming, it is time to learn how install the software that we will need on our
computer and to start working on some code.
Powering Up When you buy an Arduino board, it is usually preinstalled with a sample Blink program
that will make the little built-in light-emitting diode (LED) flash.
The LED marked
L is wired up to one of the digital input output sockets on the board. It
is connected to digital pin 13. This limits pin 13 to being the one used as an output.
However, the LED uses only a small amount of current, so you can still connect other
things to that connector.
All you need to do to get your Arduino up and running is supply it with some power.
The easiest way to do this is to plug in it into the USB port on your computer. You will
need a type-A-to-type-B USB lead. This is the same type of lead that is normally used to
connect a computer to a printer.
If everything is working OK, the LED should blink. New Arduino boards come with
this Blink sketch already installed so that you can verify that the board works.
Installing the Software To be able to install new sketches onto your Arduino board, you need to do more than
supply power to it over the USB. You need to install the Arduino software (
Figure 2-1
).
Full and comprehensive instructions for installing this software on Windows, Linux,
and Mac computers can be found at the Arduino website (
www.arduino.cc
).
Once you have successfully installed the Arduino software and, depending on your
platform, USB drivers, you should now be able to upload a program to the Arduino board.
