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The UNO predates the Pi Pico by about 20 years. It was pretty small for everything it did back then. The headers are laid out in a standard format so that it

The UNO predates the Pi Pico by about 20 years. It was pretty small for everything it did back then. The headers are laid out in a standard format so that it can accept "shields", so now anything that wants to use those shields has to be this size.

steve918 3y ago
and the weird staggered header design was a mistake from the very first boards that has just continued to carry on through the years.
- jffry 3y ago
  According to [1], the decision to keep the spacing for compatibility reasons was a conscious one. I can see how they might want to keep the whole ecosystem of Arduino-compatible accessories/kits/etc functioning. [1] https://electronics.stackexchange.com/a/941 https://electronics.stackexchange.com/a/941
schappim 3y ago
The Uno was released in 2010.
- dag11 3y ago
  The first Arduinos with that formfactor which supports shields are from around 2005[0]. The Uno wasn't the first[1], it was just a model line set up for that specific formfactor for consistency, since the name was changing frequently (e.g. "Arduino Diecimila", "Arduino Duemilanove", etc). [0] https://docs.arduino.cc/retired/boards/arduino-serial https://docs.arduino.cc/retired/boards/arduino-serial [1] https://docs.arduino.cc/retired/other/arduino-older-boards https://docs.arduino.cc/retired/other/arduino-older-boards
  - schappim 3y ago
    The first we sold was the "Arduino NG"[1]. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20070527130630/http://www.littlebirdelectronics.com/products/arduino-ng https://web.archive.org/web/20070527130630/http://www.little...
skybrian 3y ago
So just backward compatibility then, and you can ignore it unless there’s a shield you want to use? The feather format has lots of shields (“wings”) too.
- ericskiff 3y ago
  I like the feather format a lot as well and Arduino makes some in that shape (and smaller) but having taught a number of beginner's classes with Arduinos at my hackerspace, I think the Uno format is a bit friendlier for novices. Having a wifi/bluetooth enabled board in that shape is great. It's easier to see what you're doing and plug a rats next of wires into the bigger board without it falling over, and everyone's got to start somewhere! Uno format Arduinos are a learning tool first and foremost and they do that job really well.
- gmiller123456 3y ago
  If you're not interested in shields, I don't think there's any reason to use any type of Arduino today. There are smaller Arduino boards that don't support the same shields for people that want something smaller. But, today, the ESP* boards are way, way better. And, as you mentioned, some of them have shields too (though not anywhere near as many as the UNO).

steve918 3y ago

and the weird staggered header design was a mistake from the very first boards that has just continued to carry on through the years.

jffry 3y ago
According to [1], the decision to keep the spacing for compatibility reasons was a conscious one. I can see how they might want to keep the whole ecosystem of Arduino-compatible accessories/kits/etc functioning. [1] https://electronics.stackexchange.com/a/941 https://electronics.stackexchange.com/a/941

schappim 3y ago

The Uno was released in 2010.

dag11 3y ago
The first Arduinos with that formfactor which supports shields are from around 2005[0]. The Uno wasn't the first[1], it was just a model line set up for that specific formfactor for consistency, since the name was changing frequently (e.g. "Arduino Diecimila", "Arduino Duemilanove", etc). [0] https://docs.arduino.cc/retired/boards/arduino-serial https://docs.arduino.cc/retired/boards/arduino-serial [1] https://docs.arduino.cc/retired/other/arduino-older-boards https://docs.arduino.cc/retired/other/arduino-older-boards
- schappim 3y ago
  The first we sold was the "Arduino NG"[1]. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20070527130630/http://www.littlebirdelectronics.com/products/arduino-ng https://web.archive.org/web/20070527130630/http://www.little...

skybrian 3y ago

So just backward compatibility then, and you can ignore it unless there’s a shield you want to use? The feather format has lots of shields (“wings”) too.

ericskiff 3y ago
I like the feather format a lot as well and Arduino makes some in that shape (and smaller) but having taught a number of beginner's classes with Arduinos at my hackerspace, I think the Uno format is a bit friendlier for novices. Having a wifi/bluetooth enabled board in that shape is great. It's easier to see what you're doing and plug a rats next of wires into the bigger board without it falling over, and everyone's got to start somewhere! Uno format Arduinos are a learning tool first and foremost and they do that job really well.
gmiller123456 3y ago
If you're not interested in shields, I don't think there's any reason to use any type of Arduino today. There are smaller Arduino boards that don't support the same shields for people that want something smaller. But, today, the ESP* boards are way, way better. And, as you mentioned, some of them have shields too (though not anywhere near as many as the UNO).