Copy example project does not work in System workbench

[Sammalisto.Pauli]

Posted on August 03, 2017 at 23:47

I am trying to import an example STemWin project to System workbench. I want to copy it, because I do not want to ruin the original one, I may need it for another project later, but if I check the copy alternative, only folders and names of the files are copied, and you maybe guess how it works. As I have learned, I am not alone with this problem in 2017. Pretty often (read always) I also get an Eclipse error, if I clean a CubeMx project and then I have to restart System workbench. I have W10.

Is this really the level of the STM framework today, late 2017?

The examples are less than one year old, but are not using HAL.  How long are these non-HAL libraries hanging around.

Where can I see the current workspace.  I can see previous workspaces, but where am I now.

#copy-project #system-workbench

[andy b]

Posted on August 04, 2017 at 20:28

Hi

When you import examples SW4STM32 you have to be careful.My suggestion would be to make a copy of the project but to import the original in system workbench.Make sure you do not rename the project or that will make it  unusable.If you rename the project it will no longer work properly in the IDE.Hope this helps-Andy

[Sammalisto.Pauli]

Posted on August 06, 2017 at 15:09

Thank you Andy for your reply.

I also noticed, that it is not a good idea to import/copy the project, it would not work. Why? I like to give an illustrative name to my project, that is why import/copy and rename are important. STM324xG-EVAL is not very good name, at least if I am going to have more. Import/copy from CubeMx works, but not this.

What I have learned, that linker needs to have library file starting with lib and ending with .a. In STM324xG-EVAL STemWin example, imported but not copied, in libraries property there is :STemWin532_CM4_GCC.a, so it starts with a colon and ends with .a, against what has been said, also the name of the library does not start with lib. In my own project this does not work, why.

I dragged and dropped the STemWinLibrary532 folder to my project under folder STemWin to keep it separate. I deleted those files, I thought are not needed. I can compile the project, but not build. Somehow, those files I dragged and dropped, are not compiled, why, I do not know. It was in the early days of System workbench, there where problems importing files from outside, but still today.

If I try to clean the project, I get 3 errors, one is: �cannot remove directory `Drivers/STM32F4xx_HAL_Driver/Src': Directory not empty.� I could understand, that the directory is not empty, it the project has earlier been build. When I try to build the project after trying to clean, I get an error Resource '/STM32F407_LCD/Debug/sources.mk' does not exist.

Am I only an unlucky programmer or are there in System workbench still quite a few problems. I have made programs for industries with Delphi some 20 years, so I have some experience, although not in C. When using Delphi you can concentrate to solve the problems of the customer not of the framework.

I used CooIDE earlier some years, but when STM advertised System workbench, I started to use it, but I have had all kinds of problems. Maybe I have to go back to CooIDE and learn to import CubeMX projects.

Is there any hope, that System workbench would be a solid environment some day?

[andy b]

Posted on August 07, 2017 at 16:01

Hi

I've been able to import examples comming from the CubeMX package without any issues (exept when I tried to rename the project).I know that not being able to rename the project is annoying but if you really want to keep the projects seperate and give them a name you can always create a different workspace for each projects.You can name the workspace whatever you'd like. So far I only had small issues with system workbench nothing major. I have created and imported many CubeMX generated projects in system workbench without any problems. Even updating the cube an re-generating the project is detected by the IDE. I have been able to modify/convert examples before but it wasn't easy.The environment itself is Eclipse which is very stable, system workbench is just a top layer added to help programming with STM32 microcontrollers.If you want to convert examples the best would be to create a new project in Cube MX and then transfer the code from the example into the new project.Best of luck-Andy 

[Sammalisto.Pauli]

Posted on August 09, 2017 at 19:59

Hello,

as I said, importing from CubeMx has worked already quite long, the problem was, that I tried to make an own STemWin project by copying an STM example, but only linking the files worked, and in the first place all files where read only.  I made an green field project and now I have a working STemWin system.

It appeared, that there is in Eclipse a nice feature, may course little wondering in the beginning.  It is something like, that if you drag and drop a normal folder from the filesystem to project's root, it will become a normal folder, too, not a program folder (no little c in upper right corner of the icon), and all files in it are excluded from build,  and you might get a lot unsatisfied references.  There was a checkbox checked, but it was greyed out, and I did not find any way to change it, so I created first a program folder and dragged and dropped the files there.