hello this is my first project. it is the spaceship interface project from the book the arduino came with.
A book, you say? And did this book have a DVD with a copy of the arduino IDE?
- install/update xcode for the mac using the app store. This bundle includes gcc and other things that the ide assumes are there
- install/update oracle java. http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-downloads-2133151.html
- get the latest IDE https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software