Arduino Blink

The LED blink example sketch is a program to blink an built-in LED on the Arduino Duemilanove using digital pin 13. This program can be used to examine the Arduino environment setup and to practice the programming of Arduino.

Software

Double click arduino.exe to launch the Arduino IDE. Since the Arduino IDE can remember the board and serial port configuration after setting, no further setup is needed. However, the COM port assigned by the computer for difference Arduino board may be difference. So after connecting a new Arduino to the computer, check the COM port number again.

Sketch

The blink sketch can be opened from the menu File/Examples/Digital/Blink.

After selecting blink, a window open the blink sketch in the text input area.

Verify/Compile

Before the program can be send to Arduino, it should be verified and compiled. This can be done by selecting Sketch/"Verify/Compile".

The application first check the sketch for any mistakes and then translate it to the code that is compatible with the selected Arduino board. If there is no error, a "Done compiling" can be found at the status bar after finished. There is also a summary of the Binary Sketch Size in the notification area.

Upload

Since no error is found, the code is ready for uploading to the Arduino board. Before uploading, ensure the Arduino board is connected and the COM port setting is correct. Select File/"Upload to I/O Board" to upload.

Similarly, a "Done uploading" can be found at the status bar after finished.

Hardware

The built-in LED will start blinking.