Development tool for STM32F4

[manishbaing2789]

Posted on October 01, 2013 at 08:03

Hello

      I am Working with STM32F4 Discovery since couple of months.I have tried few basic program with this and now trying  to do some more advance assignments like USB serial,CAN implementation with STM32F4 Discovery.Although Documentation in STM32F4 related Driver files is quite straight forward and easy to understand , I feel that some tool may it easy to simplify or reduce programming efforts by GUI based system.I have search on those lines and I have found one tool 'LabView' But its not perfectly suited for my requirements or for embedded c code generation.               So can anyone knows some tool for Embedded system to reduce embedded Programmers efforts in simplified way(GUI based) or any one is working on same lines.then please inform me.I will eagerly waiting for reply.RegardsManish  #stm32f4-programming-tool

[Tesla DeLorean]

Posted on October 01, 2013 at 10:34

Keil, Rowley, IAR?

The IDE's typically have lacking features and editors for your discerning professional, I'll offer up also

http://www.scitools.com/

http://www.araxis.com/merge/index.en

http://winmerge.org/

[totti001]

Posted on October 01, 2013 at 12:28

I think the best is the CoIDE http://www.coocox.org/CooCox_CoIDE.htm

This is free and easy use.

[Tesla DeLorean]

Posted on October 01, 2013 at 13:31

Indeed, but IDE choice is hugely subjective. People need to try several to really understand what they like/dislike, and need an IDE to do, or not do.

My problem with CooCox seems to revolve around support staff coming here and astroturfing rather than problem solving, and the breaking of CMSIS and firmware library models for no particularly good reason. Some of my criterion for an IDE are that the project/source management should be clean/simple (ie not Eclipse Workspaces, ideally one XML file), the build and debug be seemless, use standard debug pods, and not require code modification. I like my editors to be good at editing, the newer versions of Keil have auto-complete and syntax checking that frankly get in the way more times than they are useful. IDE's also tend to consume way too much screen real-estate with useless crap. Others are just painfully slow.

[manishbaing2789]

Posted on October 03, 2013 at 07:25 Hello clive1,            Thanks for the info.I had a one question related to eclipse. What are the disadvantages of using eclipse. The build and debug is be seamless in eclipse. Also the editor of eclipse is good at editing.   

[Tesla DeLorean]

Posted on October 03, 2013 at 15:29

If it works for you, then none.

I have found it rather slow, and the workspace to be cumbersome, at least in Atollic, my expectations might be high.

[frankmeyer9]

Posted on October 03, 2013 at 17:00

What are the disadvantages of using eclipse. The build and debug is be seamless in eclipse. Also the editor of eclipse is good at editing.   

To add some points to clive's comments: Being ''good at editing'' depends on expectations. There are other good editors around, that don't try to patronize the developer with their default settings. Eclipse usually comes with a source code parser (which has nothing to do with editing, by the way), which can be helpful. However, sometimes this parser is in disagreement with the compiler, what is rather confusing to beginners. As mentioned, the workspace concept is something one needs to wrap his mind around. It is not the directory-based concept of other IDE's, and I don't like it, too. Eclipse is Java-based, and as such a ressource hog. An older PC or a Netbook is not recommended. I found NetBeans, the other Java-based IDE, worse in this regard. It has it's own extension language RCP, which is used to taylor the 'basic' Eclipse to the package you get from Atollic, Coocox etc. There are tons of plugins, wich quite useful one's, like revision control. But, as said, if you like it, and it does the job for you, it's fine.