Kryten

Is it possible to make a program and choose uC afterwards?

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Nigel Goodwin

Yes, as long as you choose the uC that you wrote the code for!

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Torben

I can't think of any reason you couldn't write a makefile for sdcc which would allow this. It would be a major pain in the neck if the uCs are very different, though.

I would think of it as more of a neat trick than something you'd want to actually do. And it certainly would be easier for a beginner to just rewrite the code for each target uC. It might be realistic for a large codebase which needs to have the ability to use newer versions of an architecture while maintaining compatibility with existing/older ones. Then again, it might not*.


Torben

[Edit: *: Then again #2: but that's not really the same thing as having one codebase target i.e. AVR, PIC, and Z80 anyway.]

Kryten

well if i choos a PIC family (i.e PIC16FXXXX) does they have the same set of instructions? When using C code?

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simrantogether

Yes definitely...

See two cases are there...

if you write in c language then you can change your microcontroller whenever you want... from pic to avr to zilog to anyone...

when you want to choose a microcontroler among any of the pic then you can write the program in both assembly and C and then can choose the microcontroller...

All you need is to change the include (header) file on changing the controller...

Regards,

Simran..

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Kryten

Ok well i see i need to specify my questions better
This is what i asked on the top !!


Edit:
What program do you sugest for making the firmware??

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Simplicity rules

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Torben

Actually, that's not the question you asked. You asked about microcontrollers in general, not PICs specifically. And the answer is only partly correct: if you write code depending upon features present in the higher-end PICs but not in the lower-end ones, that code will not work properly in lower-end PICs, regardless of the include file.

You can write code targetted at a range of uCs, as long as the code works within spec on all of them. Writing code which could run equally well on an 8051, a PIC, or an ATMEGA would be worth it only if the program didn't rely on any of the advanced features of any of the uCs. Choose the environment and code to it.

Within a family (like PICs) you could do some makefile magic to make it work, but I don't think it would be worth it.


Torben

Nigel Goodwin

You need to bear in mind that while C is far more portable than assembler, it's not really that portable, particularly for micro-controllers, where their specific requirements modify the language accordingly.

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Torben

A far more concise and elegant way to say what I was trying to say.


Torben

simrantogether

Well Sir,

I feel it is a good habit of using the assembly language... C is a good language but at least you have to master one industry microcontroller first... hence start with assembly...

Regards,

Simran..

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Kryten

Yes sir Simran. In school we have used ASMide with the MC68HC11 (thats with Assembly code)
So am familiar with assembly coding..
Have just started C programming now the easy stuff such as definng the different Analog inputs and setting the AD converter on them

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Kryten

Ok Torben. (sounds like your a Norwegian bloke)
Im aiming at using the PIC16 family as i need a ADC that has hig resolution cos im measuring 100A @ 2.5V (hmm must aplify it a bit )

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Torben

My mother is Danish, my Dad is Texan, and I'm from northwest Canada. I've been to Norway and loved it, though. And I'm wearing a cable-knit sweater right now.

Sounds neat. What are you measuring?


Torben

Kryten

Im measuring the amout of energy going to and from a batterybank (made by a windmill) in order to figure out if there is need for aditional chargeing capasity. I also need to logg and mediate the measurments to a SD card

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Torben

Nice! Be sure to post your final results.

What is the budget for this project? There are things out there called SBCs (single-board computer) and SOMs (system on module) which include a processor and several peripherals such as serial, USB, and I/O ports; SD card drives; higher-resolution ADCs etc--but the ones I know about start at around $100 US. Depends on your budget and how much of it you want to do yourself, really.


Torben