> I love the large amount of available example code
for GCC but
really do
> not like the makefiles and "linux style" of a
infinite number of
command
> line options... You can call me lazy but I really
prefer to just
press a
> button and have the code compiled and downloaded to
the target :-)
Do the
> "skins" available for GCC make this almost as easy as
a native
windows IDE
> ?? And the price is right :-) I can spend the US$ 500
in other toys...
>
There are at least two ways of thinking about having the vendor
software make all the decisions: First, it flattens the learning
curve a little bit. But, second, it becomes a nightmare to figure how
to set the options you really need. Automatically included vendor
specific configuration files, among other things, limits the
portability of the code and obscures the process.
Now, some of these vendor packages are wrappers around GCC. At least
the libraries are standard. So, what you have is an expensive way to
get a makefile written.
As to the IDE, there are many. I have used Eclipse with the gnuarm
package and lpc21isp for the downloader and it works very well. It
really is a 'point and click' approach for $0. Oh, and I have used
it
on Windows XP and Linux. There is no difference other than file paths
in the makefile - and those are usually transparent unless you do
something to move files out of standard locations.
Makefiles get to be 'cookie cutter' things after a short while.
You
will find one that is easy to comprehend and modify it over time so
that it becomes more generic and easily portable. In fact, my ARM
makefile started out as an AVR makefile that I got from some code at
BDMicro (www.bdmicro.com), I believe. As to all the options: well,
you probably won't need to deal with them very often. You will copy
CFLAGS from somebody's makefile and call it a day - until you have a
problem. Then it's off to the manual...
The only other file that needs to be created is the linker script. I
am still using the one from the famous James Lynch Tutorial.
In fact, I can't say enough about that tutorial. Everything necessary
to get started is explained in great detail. Sure, it focuses on the
LPC2106 and touches on the LPC2148 but the concepts should apply to a
wide range of processors.
Richard