Simulator or Arduino is a good question and Simulator and Arduino or even Arduino and then Simulator is a good answer. The Simulator was not designed as a replacement for Arduino but an add-on product to the Arduino development kit and has been designed as a training/demo/debugging tool. It has not been designed as a development or compiling tool. We fully support the Arduino project and encourage new users to buy and try a real Arduino kit first and then purchase the Simulator as needed. For first time users, please refer to the book "Getting Started with Arduino" by Massimo Banzi.


To develop code for Arduino, a good starting point is to use the Arduino Uno together with the Arduino IDE. For larger projects, the Arduino Mega or Due may be more suitable. This Simulator has not been designed to check for syntax errors, and we recommend only using the Simulator for debugging only after the Arduino sketch compiles in the Arduino IDE but there is still some issue preventing correct operation.


Official Arduino kits are recommended since these are well designed and support for the Arduino project leads to more great new development boards and IDE upgrades. Please note that the official arduino website is www.arduino.cc.