Forum : 8051
Original Post
| Post Information | Post |
|---|---|
|
April 20, 2007 - 3:03am
|
How you choose a development tool for your a 8051 device? Assume that you've got one of the simpler ones without any complex add-ons like CAN or USB. The big players seem to be Keil, Raisonance, IAR systems, and Crossware (pretty much in that order) -- these guys seem to have their own IDE and all the tools to go with (assembler, compiler, debugger, in-system debugger) without linking to 3rd parties for help. How do you choose from them? I've looked on their websites and was surprised to not find any competitive information (eg. Our simulator runs 3x as fast as brand X). For this discussion, ignore price and concentrate on features. |
I bought RIDE 3 years ago. At the time Keil were the 'top-line' 8051 provider. They were also the most expensive. Raisonance offered a full IDE for much less, especially if you were building smaller applications. Since then RIDE has become more expensive, so you should examine the latest prices.
How is RIDE? Code density is excellent, as good as Keil. The IDE and debugger work smoothly. I haven't used the simulator and code compression tool extensively and so can't vouch for these. The compiler has some bugs around its perihpheral features (see e.g my next post) but the core is v.solid. Support is good; the Raisonance team respond quickly and know the tool.
On the subject of comparisions, I've looked for these for 8051 and other MCUs but I've never found anything useful. There are no accepted benchmarks for small MCU's so tool vendors can't legitimately make claims. the best thing is to download demo versions of tools and build some of your own code with them. If you're going to be living with a tool for a while, its worth the time. For the 8051, check the code using the mamory model which you will use in rela projects.
regards Steven Pruzina