Overview
Arduino is a prototype platform (open-source) based on an easy-to-use hardware and software. It consists of a circuit board, which can be programed (referred to as a microcontroller) and a ready-made software called Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment), which is used to write and upload the computer code to the physical board.
Arduino Board Types
Arduino Boards Descriptions
Software and Hardware set-up
Step 1: Download the Arduino Software (IDE)
Step 2: Get the latest version from the download page. You can choose between the Installer (.exe) and the Zip packages. The Zip file is also useful if you want to create a portable installation.
Step 3: Once downloaded, proceed with the installation and please allow the driver installation process when you get a warning from the operating system.
Step 4: Choose the installation directory (we suggest to keep the default one)
The process will extract and install all the required files to execute properly the Arduino Software (IDE).
Step 5: Open the installed software using link to Arduino.exe application on Desktop. If you have downloaded .zip file and extracted it, then you will find the application arduino.exe in the same folder.
Next up is to understand some basics of C programming language that is used for the programming of Arduino Boards. Clink on the below given links to learn about this concepts.