The PlatformIO Core is written in Python 2.7 and works on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD and even ARM-based credit card sized computers like Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, CubieBoard, Samsung ARTIK, etc. The PlatformIO Unified Debugger has features like Conditional Breakpoints, Expressions and Watchpoints, Memory Viewer, A hot restart of an active debugging session. The Unified Debugger with a support for the multiple architectures and development platforms allows to debug multiple embedded boards with Zero-Configuration. The core features include the Multi-platform Build System, Library Manager, Serial Port Monitor etc.

It also comes with Smart Code Navigations and Code Formatting. In addition to this, the PlatformIO offers the theme support with dark and light colors for development on anytime. The PlatformIO features rapid development with its features like C/C++ Code Completion and Smart Code Linter for rapid professional development which is not there in the Arduino IDE. It is independent of the platform in which it is running and it requires only Python Installed on the computer.

The PlatformIO supports a number of Platforms, Frameworks, Boards like Arduino, ESP32, ESP8266 and comes with number of examples and libraries. PlatformIO comes with library manager for platforms like Arduino or MBED support along with unit testing and firmware updates. The PlatformIO is a Python based open source ecosystem for IoT development and a cross platform IDE with a unified debugger runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. Today, we will be starting with PlatformIO development environment which is easy to use and has added features compare to Arduino environment. There are many development environments available for Arduino, but all have some advantages and disadvantages.

But with all its simplicity and large community, it doesn’t have some features which an experienced developer will require for fast development that can reduce the development period. It is based on Java and runs on major OS like Windows, OS X and Linux. The Arduino IDE is open-source and free to use Development Environment with all features like write, compile and upload the code to Arduino Boards. Development in Arduino and Arduino IDE has always been easy and fun with their simple user interface.

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