getting-started.html

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layout: default
title: Getting Started
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<h1>Getting Started</h1>

<p>This page will tell you how to get the Arduino software installed on
your computer, and run a basic program to check everything is working.</p>

<hr/><br/>

<h2>1. Downloading The Software</h2>
<div class="section">
<p>
First, head over to <a href="http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software" 
target="_blank">the Arduino website</a> and download the latest version 
of their software for your computer. They do versions for Windows, Max 
OS X and Linux.
</p>
<p>
Once you have downloaded and installed the Arduino software, launch it
and you should see a window like the one shown in the image below.
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<img src="{{site.baseurl}}/images/ide-example.png"/>
</p>
</div>

<h2>2. Connecting The Board</h2>
<div class="section">
<p> Next, we need to actually connect our Arduino Board to the computer. Use
the USB cable provided, and plug it into the mini-USB port on the Arduino,
and a USB port on your PC. You should see the little green LED on the board
light up.
</p>
<p>
Now to set up the connection to the board. Using your Arduino software,
click on the <b>Tools</b> menu icon, and under the <i>Board:</i> sub-menu,
select the board you are using. For the Digimakers workshop, we are using
the "<i>Arduino Leonardo</i>".
</p>
<p>
With the correct board selected, click again on the <b>Tools</b> menu, and
this time click on the "<i>Port:</i>" sub-menu. What you will see will
depend on your operating system. Windows users will see "<i>COMX</i>" where
X is a number, while Linux users will usually see "<i>/dev/ttyACMX</i>".
Select the first one in the list. You can try the others if the first one
doesn't work in the next step.
</p>
<p>
Back on your Arduino IDE, goto the <b>File</b> menu and select
<i>Examples -> 01. Basics -> Blink</i>. A new window will appear with some
code already inserted. You can now click on the <i>Upload</i> button in
the <b>Sketch</b> menu, or, for wizz-kids, press <i>Ctrl-U</i>.
</p>
<p>

<div style="text-align:left; max-width:735px;">
<img src="images/ide-top.png"/>
{% highlight C linenos %}

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
    // set digital pin 13 as an output.
    pinMode(13, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
    digitalWrite(13, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
    delay(1000);              // wait for a second

    digitalWrite(13, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
    delay(1000);              // wait for a second

    // Automatically loop back to the beginning of the loop() function.
}

{% endhighlight %}
<img src="images/ide-bottom.png"/>
</div><br/>

<p>
Some text should fly past a the bottom of your Arduino IDE window, the last
line of which will be "Upload Complete!". The yellow LED on your Arduino
should now be flashing!
</p>
</div>

<h2>3. Next Steps</h2>
<div class="section">
<p>
Now we know we can upload code to our Arduino, can you work out what our
"Blink" program does, and how? We'll go over the code properly in the next
section, but the more you can figure out now, the better.
</p>
<p>
In the next section, we will assemble the circuit to connect the screen
to the Arduino.
</p>
</div>

<br/>
<p style="text-align:center; font-weight:bolder; font-size:x-large;">
<a href="{{site.baseurl}}/">&lt; Home</a> | 
<a href="{{site.baseurl}}/using-the-screen">Using The Screen &gt;</a>
</p>