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Ask Slashdot: Best OSS Embedded Development Platform
AchilleTalon writes "As many of you may know, there are two main competitors on the Windows platform for embedded software development, namely IAR and Keil. By embedded development, I mean development for microprocessors like the well known 8051 and the likes, not mobile platforms which include a complete OS in first place. I am seeking for alternatives to IAR and Keil in the OSS world. Even if I can find pieces of code here and there, I haven't found yet a fully integrated development platform. Does it exist? What do you use?"
Seconded.
I've tried a variety of IDEs, including Eclipse and Keil. My favorite is Visual Studio on Windows, and I did sort of get it integrated with the GNU tools but in the end it wasn't worth the hassle.
I'm in the final stages of large-ish embedded ARM project cross-compiled on Linux x86 using nothing but vi, make and free CodeSourcery GCC ARM tools. All of this was on Ubuntu 12.04 running under VirtualBox on Windows or OSX.
(1) Vendors do not want to document their internals and interfaces, so you can only use their proprietary software.
This is wh I love PIC micros. The datasheets are enormous and tell you _everything_, there are good closed and open tools. They are well documented. The programmer is even another PIC and they give away the source code as well as document the programming interface!
PIC seem to have figured that by making it easy, cheap and realising that they don't have expertise in super proprietary and extraordinarily buggy development tools (like just about every prior microcontroller vendor) people might actually want to use their stuff. You know, use it witout wanting to roll up to the Vendors's HQ with a chainsaw...
Oh, and a sleep power of 2nW does't do any harm either :)
Of course, they don't go very big, but for deep embedded stuff they are realy handy.
I gather ATMEL are pretty good too, but I started with PIC, so i've stuck with them due to being good enough and mild intertia.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
In the last few years, ARM has taken over the embedded world. It has solutions that span the entire range embedded problems, and it can be programmed entirely with the GNU toolchain. 8051s and PICs have been loosing dominance for years, and non-OSS toolchains have been declining in quality for years.
ARM has many different vendors and many different cores:
The smallest is the Cortex M-0. These come as small as 2.17x2.31 mm package made by NXP. This a 50 mhz processor with 12 io pins muxed with a few peripherals, and is between 1-4 dollars depending on quantity. There are many equally good and cheap Cortex M-0's.
If that does not quite cut it, you have Cortex M-3 series. There are MANY processors in this series. If you are looking for something good in this series, I would recommend the STM32 processors. There are many cheap and easy dev boards to get one of these processors up and running.
From here ARM just gets more and more powerful. Cortex A8 and A9 processors run at ghz now and run embedded linux. I have used these with linux with great results from Motorola, Atmel, TI (those these tend to require some effort) and Freescale. I have not yet had a chance to test the Exynos chips (this is up to quad core at 1.7 ghz) or the AllWinner chips.
All of these chips can be programmed with the gnu toolchain. The ones without linux os involve building the the gnu toolchain with the newlib library instead of the glibc/uclibc library. This is a bit of an involved process, but normally there are toolchains that are built and downloadable.
Further, any company that builds an ARM micro can be built with the gnu toolchain.
Also, never underestimate the power of attaching a small CPLD or FPGA to your application. That can drastically reduce the complexity of your software when done correctly.
I have used almost every toolchain and IDE at one point or another, and this has been *BY FAR* the most sustainable solution I have found.