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So, all you 8-bit users out there

Jim Turley

Jim Turley
Total Posts: 18
Joined: Dec 2009

So, all you 8-bit users out there: is this something you'd think of using, or are you sticking with your 8-bit MCU?

Posted on 2010-01-06 00:10:49 at 2010-01-06 00:10:49
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2 Replies

Lord Loh.

Lord Loh.
Total Posts: 7
Joined: Dec 2009

As a student, availability of fr

As a student, availability of free tools is an important factor for using a processor.

http://ics.nxp.com/literature/other/microcontrollers/pdf/arm.mcu.tools.pdf

Demos do not appeal as much. And from what I could gather from a quick google search, there is a patch that allows gcc to support Cortex M0. Not really a big help.

That is why I stick with AVR (both AVRstudio & WinAVR is free) and 8051 & PIC (SDCC / Eclipse IDE supports some PICs).

Posted on 2010-01-07 12:11:42 at 2010-01-07 12:11:42

Mike Nelson

Mike Nelson
Total Posts: 1
Joined: Jan 2010

Since this is about ARM: free to

Since this is about ARM: free tools are good, especially if they're of the highest quality.

IAR compilers work in every mode, Thumb, Thumb2, and ARM. Support
for every modern ARM variant from Cortex-M0 all the way up through ARM11. I can't say enough good things about their debugger. Beats everyone else's for power and support for JTAG, Trace, and newer high-speed serial core debuggers. The example projects are great
for getting started, as well.
ftp://ftp.iar.se/WWWfiles/datasheet/DS-EWARM-541.pdf

Download the free KickStart edition (32 KB compiled code limit, 25 year license).
Upgrade later. See "Download" in the upper right corner.
http://www.iar.com/ewarm

Better yet, get a kit for a few hundred bucks.
http://www.iar.com/kits

While you're at it try VisualSTATE, for some really dense, powerful state machine code. Awesome simulator/debugger and full detailed documentation with one click.
http://www.iar.com/vs

I used to work for IAR Systems, so I'm somewhat biased, but I've also used the competition in my projects for my clients. IAR Embedded Workbench really stands out as best quality at reasonable price, for ARM, AVR, PIC, and TI MSP430. And, you can get started for free.

Mike Nelson, The Embedded Systems Specialist,
http://michaeltnelson.com

Posted on 2010-01-12 22:04:02 at 2010-01-12 22:04:02