The Arduino team has unveiled an update to its existing integrated development environment(IDE): Arduino IDE 2.0 (beta). The beta comes with a number of improvements, including a more modern interface and a live debugging feature.
The Arduino IDE 2.0 Beta Is Here
A post on the Arduino blog proudly announced the release of the Arduino IDE 2.0 (beta). The Arduino IDE is the well-known software that DIYers use to program Arduino boards and other microcontrollers.
Arduino first hinted at the new IDE in 2019, originally debuting it as the Arduino Pro IDE. Since then, developers have been working to finalize the concept, which is how the Arduino IDE 2.0 beta was born.
What to Expect in the Arduino IDE 2.0 Beta
You can expect a number of new and improved features in the Arduino IDE 2.0 beta, which is based on the Eclipse Theia framework. It comes with a more responsive interface and a quicker compilation time.
The editor will provide suggestions while you type, allowing you to autocomplete variables and functions from installed libraries. Right-clicking a function or variable will also bring up a contextual menu that conveniently displays navigation shortcuts.
Perhaps the biggest improvement is the addition of a live debugger. This feature lets you interactively test out your code on a board. The Arduino team notes that you can simply "set breakpoints where you want to pause the execution and inspect the content of variables" and that "you can even change the content of variables on the fly and resume execution."
The left side of the interface sports this new debugger, and also presents easy access to your libraries and boards manager.
According to Arduino, the debugger supports any Arduino board based on the SAMD and Mbed platforms, including the MKR family, Nano 33 IoT, Nano 33 BLE, Portenta, and Zero. You can also use the live debugger with third-party boards, but you'll have to add extra configurations, as well as connect a debugging probe. Arduino says that a technical guide for this is in the works.
For more information on how to use these features, you'll want to check out the Getting Started With the Arduino IDE 2.0 (Beta) page on Arduino's website.
How to Try the Arduino IDE 2.0 Beta
If you want to start toying with the new IDE, you can download it from the Arduino website. Like with all other betas, you might encounter the occasional bug, so keep that in mind.