[aplorbust]

I always found it odd that one "needed" a large amount of software (Windows, IDE) to program something so small.

Additionally, the IDE is often under the control of the manufacturer. I understand there are good reasons why this means there will be "bloat". Manfacturers are acting sensibly in their own self-interest.

As a hobbyist, I prefer chips that I can program using a UNIX-like OS that I can compile from source.

I prefer to program from VGA textmode, i.e., no GUI. I am not going to run Windows just to program a tiny microcontroller.

I am grateful for projects such as avr-gcc.

[frou_dh]

IIRC the avrasm2.exe assembler, when plucked from an Atmel Studio installation, also works surprisingly well being run via WINE on Unix.