As the other poster stated, you don't really disagree, just misunderstand. You can actually do everything you need in the Arduino IDE and then leave the IDE, c

As the other poster stated, you don't really disagree, just misunderstand. You can actually do everything you need in the Arduino IDE and then leave the IDE, compile and upload your own program written from scratch to the UNO. All that while staying compatible to the dozens of hardware extensions out there. The "Arduino" part is not the destination, it's three quarters of the path to the destination and that path is already paved.