Unfortunately, this is not easy to do, at least for inexperienced developers, because it means setting up the language tool chain and tools for uploading to the board. Potentially any environment that supports C/C++ can replace the Arduino IDE. An Arduino support library may be written in C or C++ depending on the developer’s preference. We chose which language through the extension on the file, ‘c’ for C and ‘cpp’ for C++. Where do we find a better tool? To begin, recognize, as points out that There is no Arduino “Language”, we’re actually programming in C or C++. Moving beyond these limitations requires a new, better tool. When you start on larger projects, say you upgrade to a Due or Teensy for more code or memory space, the Arduino IDE can hamper your productivity. The libraries and the way it ties nicely into the hardware ecosystem is a boon. It is easy to use which is great if you have never previously written software. The Arduino IDE is a nice tool for starting out. Other times we see another hacker using a better tool and realize we must have one!. Sometimes we realize this directly when the tool fails in a task. One reason for this is we don’t really understand the restrictions of the introductory level tools. The introductory 3D printer yields to one faster and more capable. That basic soldering iron gives way to one with temperature control. As we work on projects we’re frequently upgrading our tools.

Arduino makefile for windows