What is Bootloader in Arduino?

What is Bootloader in Arduino?

Bootloader is also known as boot manager and bootstrap loader. Bootloader is a small program responsible for booting a computer. In case of Arduino microcontroller, bootloader is a small piece of software which allows uploading of sketches into the Arduino board. It is preprogrammed on the microcontrollers on Arduino boards. If it has been corrupted, it can be restored by a process called burning, flashing or programming a new bootloader on to the board.

According to the manufacturer’s website, easiest way to burn the boot loader to classic boards which include UNO, Mega and Nano is using a second Arduino board as a programmer. Six male-to-male jumper wires are used to connect the digital and power pins of one board to the corresponding pins of the second board. The programmer board is connected to the computer and burning is done using the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which should be already installed on the computer.