user47449: I'm about to work on my very first project using arduino (I'm just about to buy one next week), and one of our professor says that we can only upload a program or sketch in an Arduino Uno Board for approximately 8 times. He also added that if we're using a clone version, it'll can only last for 2 sketch uploads. Is this true or is he bluffing? Thank you in advance.

user4143: He's talking complete and utter gibberish.  To quote from the ATMega328P datasheet:


High Endurance Non-volatile Memory Segments
  
  
32KBytes of In-System Self-Programmable Flash program
  Memory
1KBytes EEPROM
2KBytes Internal SRAM
Write/Erase Cycles: 10,000 Flash/100,000 EEPROM
Data Retention: 20 years at 85°C/100 years at 25°C(1)
Optional Boot Code Section with Independent Lock Bits
  
  
In-System Programming by On-chip Boot Program
True Read-While-Write Operation

Programming Lock for Software Security



So you have at least 10,000 uses out of it before it starts to go flakey.

47449: <p>I'm about to work on my very first project using arduino (I'm just about to buy one next week), and one of our professor says that we can only upload a program or sketch in an Arduino Uno Board for approximately 8 times. He also added that if we're using a clone version, it'll can only last for 2 sketch uploads. Is this true or is he bluffing? Thank you in advance.</p>
 4143: <p>He's talking complete and utter gibberish.  To quote from the <a href="http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/Atmel-42735-8-bit-AVR-Microcontroller-ATmega328-328P_Datasheet.pdf" rel="noreferrer">ATMega328P datasheet</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <ul>
  <li>High Endurance Non-volatile Memory Segments
  
  <ul>
  <li>32KBytes of In-System Self-Programmable Flash program
  Memory</li>
  <li>1KBytes EEPROM</li>
  <li>2KBytes Internal SRAM</li>
  <li><strong><em>Write/Erase Cycles: 10,000 Flash</em></strong>/100,000 EEPROM</li>
  <li>Data Retention: 20 years at 85°C/100 years at 25°C(1)</li>
  <li>Optional Boot Code Section with Independent Lock Bits
  
  <ul>
  <li>In-System Programming by On-chip Boot Program</li>
  <li>True Read-While-Write Operation</li>
  </ul></li>
  <li>Programming Lock for Software Security</li>
  </ul></li>
  </ul>
</blockquote>

<p>So you have at least 10,000 uses out of it before it starts to go flakey.</p>
