MPIDE 20120601 What's happening next

Created Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:44:06 +0000 by ricklon

ricklon

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:44:06 +0000

Hi All,

There has been a lot of positive feedback on the inclusion of the newlib in the latest test builds. I'm prepping a release candidate 1 this weekend. Next weekend I should have a release candidate 2. If all feedback is positive we will our new official out the door directly afterwards.

I'm working on adding a preference for auto generating a makefile for projects. This won't make it in this release, but it will evolve shortly there after.

The other big goal is that once this release is out we can focus on updating to Arduino 1.0.x compatibility. I'll set up a code matrix with the API documentation for that and we can track progress from that matrix.

The task for me after that is to split the project into the GUI components, and the ChipKit core components. The ChipKit core project will also have a standard Makefile to help people use it to run and compile sketches.

I'm open to feedback so please comment here so I can incorporate that into these plans.

Thanks, --Rick

avenue33

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:44:40 +0000

Rick,

I'm working on adding a preference for auto generating a makefile for projects. This won't make it in this release, but it will evolve shortly there after.

I've been working on a makefile for MPIDE, part of a set of makefiles for the main Processing-based IDEs and platforms.

As at today, the set of makefiles manages Arduino (0023 and 1.0), chipKIT MPIDE, LeafLabs Maple, Wiring and LaunchPad MSP430 Energia.

This set of makefiles is part of a template initially aimed at Xcode, the IDE on Mac OS X — hence the name embedXcode —, but I tested it on NetBeans successfully — see embedNetBeansProject.

Documentation is :arrow: here and repository :arrow: there.

Feel free to include it on the auto-generating makefile option of the coming release of MPIDE.

Demolishun

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 13:12:29 +0000

How does one go about getting code changes into a release?

I want to help out, and the way I have been trying to help out is contribute to fixing the existing code base. Do I need to post it to a certain forum thread? Or mention it here?

BTW, I am impressed by this board. I just looked at the schematic and found I can disable the reset input from the FTDI by cutting a trace and also have the ability to install a jumper. That is really forward thinking because I need that feature! Thanks.

ricklon

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 18:21:10 +0000

Avenue33 thanks for the work on the makefiles. I'm reviewing them. I've been collecting the various makefiles for Arduino/ChipKit and comparing their behaviors and seeing how they work. Looks like your set up is really comprehensive. Cool!

Demolishun, posting to the forums is good. If you want to check out the nitty gritty, take a look at https://github.com/chipKIT32/chipKIT32-MAX/issues these are the current project issues and enhancements. To get code changes into the the releases you need to fork the project in git/Github and the issue a pull request so the change can be merged. General info is here: https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo

Demolishun

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 22:34:35 +0000

@ricklon, Thanks for the information. It looks like I have implemented issue #229 already. Now I need to figure out how to setup a fork on my machine.

avenue33

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 21:42:57 +0000

@ricklon

Avenue33 thanks for the work on the makefiles. I'm reviewing them. I've been collecting the various makefiles for Arduino/ChipKit and comparing their behaviors and seeing how they work. Looks like your set up is really comprehensive. Cool!

You're welcome :)

Each Processing-based Wiring-derived IDE has its own specific framework, with small but cumbersome differences.

That's a real challenge for tools like embedXcode and make them really hard to configure... Obviously, hardware considerations apart as 8-, 16- and 32-bit MCUs aren't the same.

Good luck ;)

Demolishun

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 03:26:51 +0000

I started the Github download, but it crapped out after downloading 300Meg or so. I have a low bandwidth connection so I commented on the Issues on the https://github.com/chipKIT32/chipKIT32-MAX site. I provided links to the code. I am in the middle of a project and I just don't have time to mess with the repo or the pull request right now. I will address this later if needed.

avenue33

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:49:11 +0000

@ricklon

The latest release of embedXcode version 14 delivers a more compact HEX file compared to previous ones.

Framework: chipKIT MPIDE Board: chipKIT Uno32 Maximum: 126 976 IDE: 5 928 Version 13: 8 892 Version 14: 5 928

I get those better results adding a new step and building an .a archive: • first, gcc and g++ are used with [color=#0000FF]-ffunction-sections -fdata-sections[/color] flags • then, all .o objects are put into an .a archive with [color=#0000FF]ar rcs file.a *.o[/color] • finally, the linker is called with [color=#0000FF]-Wl,-gc-sections,-u,main options[/color] • for all, optimisation is set to [color=#0000FF]-Os[/color].

Learn more at :arrow: HEX and BIN Files Size.

Jacob Christ

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 05:54:16 +0000

I started the Github download, but it crapped out after downloading 300Meg or so. I have a low bandwidth connection so I commented on the Issues on the https://github.com/chipKIT32/chipKIT32-MAX site. I provided links to the code. I am in the middle of a project and I just don't have time to mess with the repo or the pull request right now. I will address this later if needed.

Often, if the change is small, all you need to do is submit the code in the issue comment and it will get picked up. I've submitted a few changes and have never created a patch.

Jacob

ricklon

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:18:33 +0000

To save time and space on the getting the source code do the follwing: git clone https://github.com/chipKIT32/chipKIT32-MAX.git --depth 1

This will reduce the file size immensely. Only latest changes will be included. Not the entire history.

--Rick