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Can somebody make me a recommendation of some stable development environment (platform + programmer device + sw/ide) for beginning programming microcontrollers under linux (not arduino)?
I find it difficult to pick all this components, and I'm afraid I'll have to resort to windows. Thanks!
Update: Thanks for your answers! I'll give Microchip and Netbeans based MPLAB a try. Nothing against Atmel, but I think the former will be easy to setup for me;-)
Microchip has a new MPLAB X using the NetBeans platform that installs under Linux, either 32-bit or 64-bit. It is still under beta release, but has been out for awhile now, and has support through their forums.
You can develop for any of the Microchip MCU lines, PIC10/12/16/18 (all 8-bit), PIC24 (16-bit), or PIC32 (32-bit). I would recommend starting with at least the PIC18 line -- the smaller ones are best programmed with assembler, and it's much easier to start with C.
You can get "lite" versions of the compilers for free (the main limitation is that some optimizations expire after 60 days, but there is no code limit like some development systems).
Microchip has a combined development board/programmer -- MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18F MCU that costs $60. It includes USB communication, a capacitive touch pad, potentiometer, acceleration sensor, MicroSD memory card, and an OLED display.
I've had good success with Atmel AVRs using:
Googling will find some guides on setting it all up under a recent Ubuntu install. It's a lot easier than it used to be, it's now pretty much just installing packages from the repos.
If you wish to work in C, you can check out either SDCC or the list of supported GCC cross-compilers. There is a long list. If you wish to work in assembly, most of the 8-bit micros have well supported Linux tools e.g. gputils.
As for programming devices, most of the newer micros these days come with built-in boot-loaders that no longer require purchasing any expensive programming device. Otherwise, you can always build one yourself. For the PIC, there's the PICKIT2, which comes with schematics.
As for the IDE, you can just use emacs or eclipse in general.
You should be able to get a development environment set up for the TI/Stellaris ARM Cortex M3 parts using arm-eabi-gcc to compile code and OpenOCD for flashing and debugging on the target board. I have done it all on Mac OS X so I can't give you a straight how-to but I did a couple quick Google searches and it looks like there are plenty of setup guides out there. Honestly it's kind of a pain and you'll probably have to do some fiddling to get everything working even if you get a great setup guide, but once everything is configured the workflow is pretty good. You should also be able to use Eclipse as an IDE and configure it to load your binaries onto the board automatically if you are so inclined. The Stellaris line are great parts too.
The Eclipse IDE is Java based, so works fine under Linux. There is a plugin for the IDE available that supports C/C++ development for AVR microcontrollers and also allows you to upload compiled code to the device via a variety of programmers.
I have a number of linux based embedded microcontroller examples at github https://github.com/dwelch67. Note the ide is your favorite text editor and a command line where you type make.
Note the free tools for microchip (pic32) (not the ones FROM microchip) have optimization, 16 bit instruction set support, etc. And you get to see what is going on (cause you are doing it yourself). These of course being the mainline gcc and llvm (not the ones from microchip).
The mbed or stellaris are probably more along the lines of what you want. Or arduino like go with the maple perhaps. I hate to say maybe the fez panda. The msp430 launchpad is $4.30, at that price might as well buy a couple to save for a rainy day. The stm32 value line discovery is around $10, same deal get one save it for a rainy day.
If you let the libraries and environment do all the work for you then its no different than just writing applications on your desktop computer, a bit of a waste of time going embedded, just write desktop apps. If you go with embedded you should roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty...something to think about...Otherwise just buy the arduino and get it over with. Atmel is hard to touch for customer satisfaction, not sure why but it is what it is. The avr instruction set is not great, nowhere near as bad as the PIC (not counting the PIC32) but not as good as the msp430 or ARM instruction sets. I have used the arduino ide on linux, likely wont need to reboot to windows. There isnt anything as easy as the arduino except maybe the BASIC based stamps like parallax and some others.
As with linux/unix development in general, dont focus on looking for an IDE. Focus on the compiler, gcc or llvm, then your favorite editor and thats it, start coding. Apply that to a microcontroller and look at the targets the compilers support. ARM and MIPS are a natural fit, you wont have any problems getting the tools up and running, any time you are taking a patched gcc versions and trying to make that work on your up to date Linux box you are going to struggle from time to time, avr, msp, and pic fall into that category. Same goes for sdcc, it is hit or miss, and anyway you have to ask yourself: C on the 8051? Not as bad as C on the PIC but close. If you are really looking for a polished, supported, up to date, stable IDE, etc, you have to go to windows. Keil, IAR, Code Red, etc. The demand just isnt there, linux/unix developers historically spend their time arguing vi vs emacs as those are the dominant ides for lack of a better term. throw in gdb if you get desperate.
Programming PIC Microcontrollers in Linux is prety easy. I have a Pickit2 Clone, MPLAB X IDE, And QPickit which uses pk2cmd as backend. I have programmed dsPIC33 without problems with this programmer. To program your device:
/home/user/MPlabx_projects/Test/dis/default/production/test.hexpk2cmd -p -f /home/user/MPlabx_projects/Test/dis/default/production/test.hex -m -rRemember to choose the correct voltage in your pickit. For dsPIC33 is 3.3V generally. You can choose it from your pickit2 clone, selecting the correct jumper. Also, you can power your MCU from a independent power supply of 3.3V, and use the default settings on pk2cmd.
If you want, you can use QPickit. Is a QT based application to program pic microcontrollers with a very simple and useful interface. I will load the program sources in the next days.
Download pk2cmd from here
Good recommendations,And if you want to try ARM architecture you have even more choice:
