What's the best way to use a computer keyboard as an input device for an Arduino, through the computer?

Question

I would like to control my Arduino using my computer and keyboard, but not entirely sure how to do this, and whether I need to write software on the computer for the communication to happen?

So in a very basic sense, I would like to press a key on my keyboard, and the Arduino will then turn on the corresponding LED for that key in a separate circuit to the keyboard.

Thanks

Joe · Accepted Answer

You are trying to connect the Arduino to another device that is running its own (separate) software --> your computer. You will need a program on your computer to accept your keyboard commands and send them to the arduino. You will also need a sketch (program) on the arduino to listen for the commands from the computer and then react to them.
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The following was copied from the source listed, the source has much more info on the topic and should help you a lot.
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"The Arduino can "talk", (transmit or receive data data) via a serial channel, so any other device with serial capabilities can communicate with an Arduino. It doesn't matter what program/programming language is driving the other device. 

You can either use the Arduino's "main" serial port, the one it uses when you "talk" to it to program it, or you can leave that channel dedicated to programming (and the development environment's serial monitor), and use two other pins for an extra serial link dedicated to the external device.

Some programs (like Flash) don't have native serial capabilities. They can still communicate with Arduino through an intermediary which, like a "translator", enables them to talk to each other."

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What's the best way to use a computer keyboard as an input device for an Arduino, through the computer?

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