03·Installing Arduino IDE, drivers and connecting the board

Introduction

Before you write your first line of code, the computer must see the board. This lesson walks through installing Arduino IDE (classic 1.8.x, the new 2.x, and Web Editor as a browser alternative), understanding USB-serial drivers (ATmega16U2 in a genuine Uno vs CH340/FTDI in clones), recognizing the board in your system (COM port, /dev/ttyUSB0, /dev/cu.usbmodem), selecting board and port in the IDE, and the most common problems: a power-only cable, a missing CH340 driver, and a busy port.