In starting with Arduino I am looking at an easy IDE to use. Have found Scratch S4A, has anyone used it? Is there a better alternative for a newbie please?
Cheers,
Jack.
1 Like
Hi Jack,
Scratch looks like a pretty easy way to learn the basics of coding! I’ve always used the standard Arduino IDE for coding.
There is also Microsoft MakeCode, you just need to either use the MicroBit or the Circuit Playground Express to use it.
We’ve got great tutorials on how to use each board:
The advantage of the Circuit Playground is that its got that great editor and is covered in sensors and buttons so you can get programming without needing to do as much breadboarding.
Let me know what you think of Scratch if you decide to go that route!
Thanks Stephen,
I am looking at several solutions right now, thought of Visuino and also Flowcode V8
But I am also in the middle of starting with Raspberry Pi as well, so I need to continue with that on a seperate development platform.
Maybe I need to organise my priorities better 
Cheers,
Jack.
1 Like
Today, I made a decision to purchase Flowcode V8 and use block mode programming to get started.
https://www.matrixtsl.com/blog/flowcode-8-release-announced/
I need some Eblock boards for easy interface to the IDE.
Cheers,
Jack.
2 Likes
Update! Whilst I purchased FC ver 8 and its feature packages, I have been going through the tutorials for Makecode and the Circuit Playground Express board so I have decided to start there. Just need to get the board now.
Question though, I have WIN7 as my O/S and see the latest Arduino IDE needs WIN10? Is there and older version still useable for WIN7 please?
Cheers,
Jack.
1 Like
All the previous editions of the Arduino IDE are available on the Arduino website. The older versions of the IDE work just fine, you just need to do different steps to install libraries sometimes. If you are getting the Circuit Playground Express and want to try out MakeCode, you can always go to Makecode.com and use the editor there. I’m not sure the windows app version is available for windows 7.
Good luck and happy coding!
Thanks Stephen, my CPE board turned up yesterday, so I will try Makecode as a starting point and see how I go
Cheers,
Jack.
2 Likes
Nice! Something that I haven’t touched much on in the Tutorials is how great it is to program in JavaScript using MakeCode. If you ever want to transition into a written programming language, JavaScript in MakeCode allows you to drag and drop sections of code just like the blocks in the visual designer. It’s a very cool setup!
