SDCC Version Issue documented in Wiki

I've documented the issue where sdcc fails to compile fairly thoroughly, and added a note about it to the main RepRapLinuxSoftware page. The new page is SDCCVersionInfo, at [www.reprap.org] .

I intend to post details of what happens when I try to use a current SDCC to compile and build RepRap firmware (under Ububtu 7.04) later, either here or on the Wiki.

Once I can get a useful-to-RepRap current version of SDCC, I may then take on packaging it as a .deb for easy installation. There is a .deb in the MultiVerse now, but its maintainer is officially not maintaining it any more... I might even adopt the orphaned package, longer term.

Jonathan

Replying to myself? Sort of.

In the "sdcc compilation" thread in the Core Developers forum, Adrian wrote:

> Simon said something a while ago about updating everything to a more
> recent sdcc. Apart from anything else, I have never managed to get the
> 16F628A to work with the one we're using, so I'm sticking with the
> 16F628 for the moment.

What version of sdcc (and underlying assembler/linker/etc.) is currently being used to create known good .hex files for RepRap? What is the failure mode when using a "too old" sdcc? Despite Adrian's note in the Wiki about this dated February, a really really old sdcc version does seem to compile (and generate .hex files) for the RepRap firmware sources in the sourceforge repository. Newer ones, at least for me, don't seem to get even that far.

I'd value some more specific info on how to check (other than programming a real hardware setup and trying it out!!) whether a given PIC programming toolchain is doing the right thing with the RepRap firmware source code. If that's already documented somewhere, a pointer to the right docs would be great.

Thanks,

Jonathan

Only build 16f628 as posted previously the same code works for 16f628 16f628a and 16f648a. Getting it programmed is a function of your programmer and I have no problem programming the hex files thus produced on JVM programmer. Adrian had some luck and wrote something up of his trials and tribulations and seemed successful with some combination finally under linux as many others have. I'm not familiar with pikdev and the like.

Where do I get the source C code for the firmware? I can't run certain programs with windows ME. I really read that C code book diligently and I know my >> from my | in binary!

englewood,

Please read the wiki for software installation information. Software developer docs are undergoing change right now, because we now have some non-developer docs :-)
One place to start from would be [www.reprap.org] .

You can use the project subversion repository on SourceForge to grab all the Reprap-related source code we have. C, Java, C++, shell scripts ... it is all there. BTW... by definition, none of the Reprap firmware will run on Windows ME... it is for 16F628 PICs, and you can't fit Windows ME on a PIC :-)

"Certain programs" is, well, rather general -- when reporting issues, can you please be a lot more specific about what exactly you have tried regarding installing and running the Reprap software, and what fails to perform as expected, what error messages you are seeing, etc. ? Then we have a much better chance of being able to help.

Jonathan

Has anyone successfully built the PIC toolchain using SDCC yet? If not, can we coordinate our efforts to sort out the issues? Otherwise, is the plan to shift all of our efforts to the Arduino, as Zach has been suggesting? Of course, I just got my PIC programmer, but I want to work where I am actually helping out...

Arduino is a side issue that Zach is pursuing at this point to see if there is promise in the approach. The last I heard we were still doing SDCC with Microchip PIC 16F628A's and 16F648's.

Just out of curiousity, has anybody, aside from Vik, Simon and Adrian, got SDCC generating usuable hex code in Linux yet?

Further, has anybody got SDCC working on Windows?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2007 11:16PM by Forrest Higgs.

hi forrest,
which version of sdcc to you mean? are you able to compile the firmware with the actual sdcc version?

I am using the sdcc-version which has been checked out with the firmware-Makefile (sdcc version 2.5.4) in linux.

best
andreas

andreas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hi forrest,
> which version of sdcc to you mean? are you able to
> compile the firmware with the actual sdcc
> version?
>
I'm just curious whether ANYBODY using windows has it compiling properly. It looks like a real bear to get a good build in Linux, never mind Windows.