Can you use the Arduino IDE to program the chipkit UNO32.
YES, you can. I've done it.
Is it easy to get set up to do No.
See this thread over on the chipkit forum:
http://www.chipkit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1877
Summary is you will have to jump to IDE 1.5 to get the needed capabilities
to alter the compiler and linker settings.
And you will have to do some low level avrdude scripting to get autoreset to work.
Personally, I'd just use mpide.
mpide will compile and build for AVR parts as well; however I don't think the
AVR core and libraries have been updated to 1.x support.
(Although it has been 6+ months since I've played with it)
One area that is a mess is the libraries since neither mpide or the 1.5x Arduino IDE
deal very will with architecture specific libraries vs common libraries and 3rd party cores.
i.e. you don't have areas where you can place libraries that work on any architecture
vs a place where to put architecture specific libraries or a place to put 3rd party cores.
What that means is that you have to duplicate libraries in two places if you install them
in the IDE area, or you can end up with errors that prevent building anything
if you put them in your local sketchbook area since the Arduino team IDE freaks out
when it encounters certain libraries or if it sees a 3rd party hardware directory.
It's a real mess.
Honestly, as much as I'd like to have a single IDE, right now it is just plain easier
to just keep them separate.
As far as hardware goes, I think the chipkit board is a much better solution for
many projects than the DUE because not only is it substantially cheaper but it is 5v compatible.
The 5v issue is where the DUE falls flat on its face.
--- bill