Manfred privat wrote:

> hi Chris
> you'r right
> I installed GCC and ported my application in about one day from IAR
> environment
> but I missed "small" sprintf() and sscanf() - NO float necessary - which
> I need for UART communication
> any idea/help?

you can provide your own printf (or vuprintf that is the real
implementation of all the *printf's) with your project, if you realy
need a smaller one.

to use printf() over the uart, simply define

after that printf() and puts() will write over the serial port

sscanf is currently not in the lib, contributions welcome.

chris

Beginning Microcontrollers with the MSP430

Richard (UK) wrote:
> Hi Chris,
>
> I installed the GCC toolchain several months back - didn't work, so reloaded
> another version of GCC just in case I hand the wrong one ... gave up after a
> while and loaded IAR Kickstart which ran first time.
>
> Is there now a single Click-and-Go GCC distribution which will deliver an
> IDE, Compiler, Assembler and Debugger for Windows all in one hit?

currently no IDE, but you can use GCC from many IDEs that are available
on the net. Eclipse.org and Dev-C++ for example.
the installer contains the compiler, binutils(as, linker, ...), gdb, and
some command line tools.

> If so, where can I find it?

mspgcc.sf.net, see download section

> Or should I expect to mix-and-match compiler, libraries, Python, scripts,
> GIVEIO, JTAG driver etc etc by hand?

the installer contains .exes for everything, you can click trough the
setup and run "make download" in one of the examples directory, e.g. the
leds example, which then downloads the freshly compiled stuff over the
parallel port JTAG

Hi Chris,

I installed the GCC toolchain several months back - didn't work, so reloaded
another version of GCC just in case I hand the wrong one ... gave up after a
while and loaded IAR Kickstart which ran first time.

Is there now a single Click-and-Go GCC distribution which will deliver an
IDE, Compiler, Assembler and Debugger for Windows all in one hit?
If so, where can I find it?

Or should I expect to mix-and-match compiler, libraries, Python, scripts,
GIVEIO, JTAG driver etc etc by hand?

[I don't mind doing that - it is freeware after all! However I would like to
know BEFORE I start the long process. At least then I can decide if I would
rather pay some money for a clean ready-to-roll commercial package to save
time & grief]

Thanks,

Richard

> We are looking for a cheaper (but good) alternative to the IAR
> Embedded Workbench for the MSP430. Any suggestions?

Check out my new site msp430.info or go directly to

http://msp430.info/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1

There you will find a list on C-compilers for MSP430 and a short note
on each.

Regards,

-Jean-

---------------------------
msp430.info - your place to
get your MSP430 info

hi Chris
you'r right
I installed GCC and ported my application in about one day from IAR
environment
but I missed "small" sprintf() and sscanf() - NO float necessary - which
I need for UART communication
any idea/help?
Manfred

At 08:45 AM 3/10/2004 +0000, you wrote:
>...
>Ever curious, I looked at your website, but it still says that the
>MSP430 Pro version is on its way, not actually here.

The website is being updated by the webmistress as we speak...

// richard

Richard,

> > >ImageCraft - www.imagecraft.com/software
> >$499 //$199 for standard
>
> $349 for PRO. We just released it. The code compression ratio
> is a bit
> lower than we would like (2-10%), so we will continue to add more
> optimizations and tune the code compressor (Yes Paul, I am
> grabbing the
> X(SP) operands and adjust them to X+2(SP) already :-). )

Ever curious, I looked at your website, but it still says that the
MSP430 Pro version is on its way, not actually here.

--
Paul Curtis, Rowley Associates Ltd http://www.rowley.co.uk
CrossWorks for MSP430, ARM, and (soon) Atmel AVR processors

Paul Curtis wrote:
> Compiler links are on the Links part of the group. However,
>
> CrossWorks - www.rowley.co.uk
> Quadravox - www.quadravox.com
> ImageCraft - www.imagecraft.com/software
> HI-TECH - www.htsoft.com

i miss one here...

GNU C - mspgcc.sf.net

i'm one of the developers, so you can call this a shameless plug, but it
looks like not everyone is aware that there is realy a working GNU C
compiler for the MSP430 without any limitations, for free.

chris

> >CrossWorks - www.rowley.co.uk
>495
> >Quadravox - www.quadravox.com
>$395
> >ImageCraft - www.imagecraft.com/software
>$499 //$199 for standard

$349 for PRO. We just released it. The code compression ratio is a bit
lower than we would like (2-10%), so we will continue to add more
optimizations and tune the code compressor (Yes Paul, I am grabbing the
X(SP) operands and adjust them to X+2(SP) already :-). )

On Tue, Mar 09, 2004 at 11:16:08PM +0100, Ralph Hilton wrote:
> I got a good AVR C compiler (Codevision) full version for $150.
> Why are the MSP430 compilers relatively so expensive?

Different vendors target different sectors of the market. Every
chip market is segmented into, broadly, three sectors;

The bottom end is comprised of students, hobbyists and very
small businesses - think "2 guys in a garage". These customers
have a surplus of time and a shortage of cash. They want the
cheapest possible tools, and are prepared to put in more work
if necessary to work with low-cost tools. This is the market
for the sub-$200 tools.

The top end of the market are the large corporates. They are
almost completely price-insensitive, but want the reassurance
of dealing with large, established vendors who (nominally)
provide a high level of support. Tools aimed at this
market range into the many thousands. Vendors targeting
this market are e.g. Green Hills and Wind River.

In between is everybody else - this includes small to medium
companies who are concerned about price, but are prepared to pay
more than the low-end guys to get solid, reliable
tools with good support.

Each vendor makes a choice about where they want to position
their tools into this spectrum of customers. That's not to
say that just because one tool is cheaper than another that
it's not as good, but it's inevitable that the level of
support is better with the higher priced tools - you simply
can't sell something for $100 and spend a lot of time
supporting it.

The cheap tools are also typically updated on a more frequent
basis - so you probably get quick bug fixes, but with less
thorough pre-release testing also the chance of more bugs
being introduced.

There are a lot of other factors, but mostly it's just
about what business model the vendor has chosen to follow.

Cheers, Clyde

--
Clyde Stubbs | HI-TECH Software