For your first project, start small using one of the built-in examples in the Arduino IDE. The most beginner-friendly sketch here is the "Blink," which simply makes an LED blink.

The release of the Arduino IDE 1.6.6 and updated cores for all supported platforms (AVR 1.6.9, SAM 1.6.5, SAMD 1.6.2) have now closed the door on 723 issues and merged 147 Paul requests. New ...