Free PIC Web Server (under development)

Stay with what you know if you aren't really interested in branching out.

GNU ARM is the free compiler/assembler. There are a few different packages that try to put all the extra development components together to make it easier. Eclipse IDE, and OpenOCD debugger. I think YAGARTO is still the most popular. You can google YAGARTO for the main page and tutorials. I had an issue with OpenOCD not working for me and I think it was because it didn't support Vista64 at the time. I spent $150 on the Crossworks compiler and it's great. Super clean and integrated environment. The hardware I use is the USB OCD Tiny. Looks like it got hit pretty hard at the Sparkfun free day, or maybe they cleared out the stock for a new version coming out with the new FTDI chip.

SparkFun Electronics - JTAG USB OCD Tiny - Programmer/Debugger for ARM processors

I use the FatFS library for FAT32/16/12. I don't use an IP stack because I'm using the Wiznet W5100 and W5300, which has the stack onboard, but uIP and lwIP are both free and popular libraries.

Wilksey said:

If theres one thing i've learnt over the short space of time i've been doing electronics, and i'm sure some of the golden oldies will tell you on this board, the best practise is to keep it simple and then expand upon that.
Yes it would be nice to have an ARM9 super processor churning out all kinds of things, but the question is, do you really need it? All PHP and ASP.NET do is expand upon the CGI technology (Common Gateway Interface). C# and Java are both interpreted languages, they heavily rely on a framework around them. Embedded systems are much more resilient to time processing, apart from the main stack operations, Microchip kindly offer a lot of assistance in the form of example source code when it comes to modern day applications for the PIC processors. I've even found some through hole versions of the dsPIC, excellent for prototyping.

The TCP/IP stack will fit and then some onto a PIC18F4620 processor, yes you need a level shift or go for an LF or a embedded chip as previously mentioned in this post.

A PIC24 would be a good start if you "have on lying around", but think about what you actually want to acheive as an end result.

It's a bit like going into a computer store and buying an all singing all dancing gaming PC just to run MS Word on or browse the internet for example, you could do the same on a lot less power.

My advice would be to start simple, then move on from there.

But you need to decide what platform you are going to build it on first, the PIC would be a good one, as it is a good way to show non-believers how powerful a PIC can really be (especially a PIC18).

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When I was looking for a PIC to develop with I always had chosen the ones with most Processor MIPS, RAM and Flash memory… But you made me realize something that I didn’t understood before, it was always a mystery why they made uCs with the same package and a different number o features as well as memory and processor speed, sometimes battery and the project cost is also very important!

Based on what I’ve learned here, I think I will learn more about the new PIC24F devices, they may be a lot slower than PIC32’s, but they have a very cool thing, they allow me to remap the peripherals to any I/O pins I want… This is a fantastic feature on an uC! The one they use on the Hackaday project is probably the smallest great 16 bits PIC24 uC Microchip has to offer. It has USB OTG 2.0, RTCC, and the extraordinary PPS (Peripheral Pin Select for remapping digital peripherals to I/O) feature!
I will be using this one in this project. I will probably add a temperature sensor and provide a SPI connector for expandability.
I now realize that PIC32 and PIC24H are great to make heavier devices, like a basic PDA (device like). DS Pics are for DS processing, speech synthesis and general audio applications, like MP3/WAV players/recorders. The PIC24F and PIC18 are for flexibility, on general designs, like PC peripheral making, USB Flash pens, etc…
Since the PIC24F is the most accessible yet powerful device class, and I already have a project that I can enhance to my own needs and it is also allow me to start learning more on PIC24 devices, I think I will be starting my project with this device (PIC24FJ64GB002).


Thank you all for all your posts and help getting my mind set, I was going for the PIC32, because I was thinking on moving forward to a more powerful platform, but the PIC24F seems to just be what I need! It has power and it is simple, both to program and to make the board design. I now realize that we not always need a super duper powerful processor to make something work right. I always liked ARM processors too, but there is too much offer, and for someone starting off it gets more complicated than it should… There should be starting packs like the PIC32 starting pack that has an on board programmer/debugger at a great price.

Again, thank you all!

TiagoSilva said:

I always liked ARM processors too, but there is too much offer, and for someone starting off it gets more complicated than it should… There should be starting packs like the PIC32 starting pack that has an on board programmer/debugger at a great price.!

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I agree, that it's still complicated to get started with, but ARM7 until recently was the lowest chip core in the family and there wasn't much reason for a beginner to use them and they were fairly hardcore for a hobbyist. Now that the Coretex-M3's are out and gaining ground, I fully expect it to get much simpler in the next year or so.

There are low cost development package/programmers out. There's an LPC one called the LPCXpresso for $30 and there a Luminary Micro dev board/programmer/debugger for $50. I do not have experience with either, but my understanding is that the LPCXpresso programmer is only compatible with the Code Red development environment, which makes its usefulness limited if you want to branch out.

LPC
NXP Semiconductors - Microcontrollers [LPCXpresso]
Digi-Key - 568-4947-ND (Manufacturer - OM11048)

LM
Luminary Micro - LM3S811 Evaluation Kits
Digi-Key - 726-1129-ND (Manufacturer - EKT-LM3S811)