would avrdue -e option destory an arduino chip

Ha ha ha ha well I may not have gotten it before but I sure did
subsequently by using -U (which erases first). At least I don't have to
push the button to upload anymore.

I may not care though. I like the open hardware and schematics and
such, but have not intention of using the IDE or language parts. So
what is there in the firmware that I care about?

I would just like to get to the point where the chip is talking on the
UART so I can do prinf-evidence based debugging as usual. I'm not
sure what is in the shipping firmware that helps with this?

Is there anyone else using arduino in this way who has their own little library of C code set up st everything required is just uploaded
each time?

Thanks,
Britton