If you take a look at the MicroStamp11, you'll note that it is a printed circuit board (PCB). A PCB is a non-conducting board upon which there are conducting strips. The components of your circuit are then connected to these conducting strips. The connections can be made using solder or wire-wrap. The problem is that these types of connections are rather permanent. So if you make a mistake in your circuit, it is difficult to "undo" what you've done. So these more permanent methods for building circuits are inconvenient for developing prototype circuits.
To build prototype circuits, we'll use a special device known as a solderless breadboard. We often refer to such boards as proto-boards.
Figure 8 is a top down view of a standard proto-board. The proto-board consists of a set of holes that are just the right size for accepting the leads of electrical devices (such as your MicroStamp11). The holes in the proto-board are electrically connected in a systematic manner. So you can use the proto-board to easily build electrical circuits by simply inserting the leads of your circuit components into the holds of the proto-board.
The proto-board's holes are electrically connected in a systematic manner. A long row of holes on the top (bottom) of the board are electrically connected. These rows are usually connected to the power supply and ground and we refer to them as power buses. In the middle of the board you'll find two columns of holes stacked one on top of each other. These columns are also electrically connected. We usually insert components into these holes. In figure 8 we've circled the two main groups of electrically connected holes.
The nice thing about the proto-board is that you can easily connect two components by inserting one end of a component's lead into one hole and then inserting another component's lead into one of the electrically connected holes. This means it is relatively easy and fast to use a proto-board in constructing electrical circuits.
It is important, however, that one is NEAT in building prototype circuits. Being neat means that wires of appropriate length are used. It is also highly recommended that you have your wires and components run in vertical and horizontal directions. Careful wiring makes it easier to debug your circuit when things don't work and rest assured that many of your designs will not work the first time you try them.
