Microcontroller with free IDE

Thread Starter

iulianvalentin

Joined Mar 18, 2011
8
Hey guys,

Until now I used PIC micros with MPLAB but the C32 compiler is way to expensive and I kinda need the full version since with the free one you only get access to 64K program memory, does anyone have any suggestions for a MIPS or ARM that has a decent IDE with libraries included since I don't care much for reinventing the wheel.

Thanks
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,159
What is and is not free in various environments varies a great deal. In the ARM world the software is (mostly?) free, but the JTAG interface will cost an ARM and a LEG. (That's a joke son!) For free you need to stick to assembly language. I think it the same with the AVR, now owned by Microchip. I think it is pay to play almost everywhere.
 

Thread Starter

iulianvalentin

Joined Mar 18, 2011
8
Let's put this in another way, I have a lot of arduino modules, what single board computer can I use with them that has more than 40 pins IO since I have an LCD that works with 16 bit paralel interface and some other modules, more in plain English , what solution is there that does not require me to sell or throw away lots of modules.
 

panic mode

Joined Oct 10, 2011
2,715
there are free IDE and C compiler for ARM... i was using coocox.
in fact there is pretty much anything for any micro-controller but you need to do some exploring...
 

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
11,389
Hi,

The Arduino Due is ARM based, and of course has the free IDE. You have to do an extra download to get the ARM software but it's not too bad. I did get some idea from the web that it might be discontinued though, i dont know how true that is.

There's also the Mega2560 or whatever it is. Wayyyyy many i/o pins, i forgot the count, but it's a huge number like 70 or something. If you need more than that then you didnt do the design right or are working on a more than 100 percent efficient machine :)
 

takao21203

Joined Apr 28, 2012
3,702
XC32 doesn't like plib.h that much :) they got a divorce and to be honest I don't care much for building the peripheral library from scratch.
Theres no limits for XC32.

the plib is retired.

Why do you need so much memory? Using modules? For your own code?
The plib is just a wrapper of a kind, and makes things complicated.
 

Thread Starter

iulianvalentin

Joined Mar 18, 2011
8
Theres no limits for XC32.

the plib is retired.

Why do you need so much memory? Using modules? For your own code?
The plib is just a wrapper of a kind, and makes things complicated.
I need the memory for fonts since I have an LCD (5"), images and lots of code, I mean what's the purpose of buying an LCD that size and doing lines on it. If you have any solution/ alternatives don't hold it back :).
 

NorthGuy

Joined Jun 28, 2014
611
XC32 doesn't like plib.h that much :) they got a divorce and to be honest I don't care much for building the peripheral library from scratch.
You're kidding, right?

PLIB is a very thin wrapper around hardware modules, which is

(1) poorly documented
(2) difficult to use
(3) can change at any time

compared to direct access to the hardware through registers, which is

(1) well documented
(2) easy to use
(3) guaranteed not to change over the lifetime of the part
 

jayanthd

Joined Jul 4, 2015
945
Hi iulianvalentin

I have an extra license for MPLAB C32 Compiler. If you are interested then email me at <snip> and I will give you the license for free. I had purchased two licenses.

Mod edit: Removed email address to avoid spam. Communicate via PM instead.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Thread Starter

iulianvalentin

Joined Mar 18, 2011
8
You're kidding, right?

PLIB is a very thin wrapper around hardware modules, which is

(1) poorly documented
(2) difficult to use
(3) can change at any time

compared to direct access to the hardware through registers, which is

(1) well documented
(2) easy to use
(3) guaranteed not to change over the lifetime of the part
(1) You are right
(2) You are right
(3) you are right
Direct access means more work for me and that i'm trying to avoid because:
(1) Lazy
(2)Lazy
(3)Lazy
I will probably have to do the unthinkable amongst many programmers ( work :)) ) and build a lib for each peripheral that I may use.
 

smiler

Joined Jun 11, 2014
1
Hey guys,

Until now I used PIC micros with MPLAB but the C32 compiler is way to expensive and I kinda need the full version since with the free one you only get access to 64K program memory, does anyone have any suggestions for a MIPS or ARM that has a decent IDE with libraries included since I don't care much for reinventing the wheel.

Thanks
Don't know if this helps, but there's a good free IDE from Moravia Microsystems based on the 8051 microcontroller and its derivatives.
Here's the link: http://www.moravia-microsystems.com/mcu-8051-ide/
I use it and like it very much, though it may not suit your needs.
 
Top