Official command line tool(s) to compile and load SPIN for Windows/OSX/Linux - SOLVED

prof_braino

SOLVED! Solution is in thread http://forums.parallax.com/discussion/164279/how-to-request-a-parallax-supported-command-line-tool-to-load-the-p1

---

Hi All!

Are there a current command line tool (or tools), supported by Parallax, that compiles SPIN and loads the image to the prop? And runs on Windows, OSX, and Linux?

And no, unsupported BST is not what I am after, nor is the old windows-only propeller tool and propellant.

I looked on https://www.parallax.com/downloads/propeller-p8x32a-software
and found propellerIDE but that appears GUI only. And i know about simpleIDE but since I want spin not C I don't think that will work.

I know there are a bunch of tools out there, but I thought there would be one that was "official" to be downloaded or at least linked from the Parallax site.

Thanks!

Heater.

There is OpenSpin https://github.com/parallaxinc/OpenSpin. Downloadable executables for Windows, Mac and Linux on that page.

There does not seem to be a stand alone command line Propeller loader. I use the the one that gets built with PropGCC or my own fork of it that that runs on everywhere including the Raspberry Pi: https://github.com/ZiCog/pi-propeller-load Despite it's name it should be usable anywhere.

prof_braino

Thanks! That what I was looking for!

dgately

Or...

You can take a look at the command-line tool (Propeller Manager) that Brad Weir created for PropellerIDE.

Sources are here: https://github.com/parallaxinc/PropellerManager. Like PropellerIDE & SImpleIDE, you'll need to build with Qt Creator (or possibly from the command-line with qmake and Qt libraries). It's cross-platform, should build on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (yes, even Raspberry Pi).

Propeller Manager sources are a sub-project within the PropellerIDE github repository. You can get the sources for Propeller Manager either directly with:

$ git clone https://github.com/parallaxinc/PropellerManager.git"

or within the complete PropellerIDE sources with:

$ git clone --recursive https://github.com/parallaxinc/PropellerIDE.git

Propeller Manager is accessed as 'propman'. Here is a list of its arguments/options:

$ propman -h
Usage: propman [options] FILE

A command-line wrapper for the PropellerManager API
Copyright 2015 by Parallax Inc.

Options:
  -h, --help          Displays this help.
  -v, --version       Displays version information.
  -l, --list          List available devices
  -w, --write         Write program to EEPROM
  -d, --device <DEV>  Device to program (default: first system device)
  -b, --baud <BAUD>   Baud rate for terminal (default: 115200)
  -p, --pin <PIN>     Pin for GPIO reset
  -t, --terminal      Drop into terminal after download
  -i, --identify      Identify device connected at port
  --image             Print info about downloadable image
  --clkmode <MODE>    Change clock mode before download
  --clkfreq <FREQ>    Change clock frequency before download

Arguments:
  file                Binary file to download

dgately

Heater.

Wow. Who would ever have guessed.

Whist searching for a Propeller programmer on github one needs "PropellerManager":

PropellerManager is an event-driven Qt/C++ API for developing integrated Propeller applications.

Create rich integrated systems based on the Propeller
Manage large numbers of Propeller devices from one computer
Build portable software that always supports the latest hardware


No mention of it actually being a loader or programmer anywhere!

No build instructions either but this works once you have Qt5 installed:

$ git clone https://github.com/parallaxinc/PropellerManager.git
$ cd PropellerManager
$ qmake
$ make
$ ./bin/propman --help
Usage: ./bin/propman [options] FILE

A command-line wrapper for the PropellerManager API
Copyright 2015 by Parallax Inc.

Options:
  -h, --help          Displays this help.
  -v, --version       Displays version information.
  -l, --list          List available devices
  -w, --write         Write program to EEPROM
  -d, --device <DEV>  Device to program (default: first system device)
  -b, --baud <BAUD>   Baud rate for terminal (default: 115200)
  -p, --pin <PIN>     Pin for GPIO reset
  -t, --terminal      Drop into terminal after download
  -i, --identify      Identify device connected at port
  --image             Print info about downloadable image
  --clkmode <MODE>    Change clock mode before download
  --clkfreq <FREQ>    Change clock frequency before download

Arguments:
  file                Binary file to download

rjo__

Heater,

I've been able to use OpenSpin to compile binaries from the command line. And I would really like to test this loader, but the 32GB space is filling up rapidly. Is it possible to post the binary for this?

Thanks,

Rich

mindrobots

I'll ask now so the answer is here when heater. wakes up.

A binary for what OS?

It really doesn't take much room for the source. On a Raspi with limited disk space, I often build stuff and then get rid of the source and build output other than the installed pieces, either deleting them or "archiving" them.

If you are targeting Windows, you may have more space issues installing the required tools.

rjo__

Windows... I'm down to 5GB:) I have a real computer, but I will have to dig it up. And I have some serious time constraints... as does everyone:)

mindrobots

That's why in the "Coke Can" thread I said I don't buy tiny Windows computers unless the have 4gb of memory and 64gb of disk. You need to keep things usable.

rjo__

But I love it!!! Getting HDMI, USB3 etc out of a cigarette pack sized thingy. It is just a hoot... and there is no room left on my actual desk. My P2 work occupies only one square foot... you can't beat it, except for the limited memory.

I have my eye on a USB3 thumb drive, but the prices keep coming down. I'm waiting for 1TB for $25:)

prof_braino

Thanks dgately. The PropellerManager is ALMOST what we need. But it goes in the opposite direction: it needs QT5, its buried in one or more other packages, the instructions are not present; the whole effort is overly complex and likely to have failure. While an expert MIGHT be able to get this working (as a possible expert, I would say that there are other suboptimal method that require less risk and effort), a novice programmer would quit and go back to playing slither.io or whatever.

What we need is the simplest, most straightforward method to get a raw compiled (SPIN) image loaded into the prop. Much like bst; only supported by parallax, and source that can be compiled on windows Linux and OSX. .

ersmith

I think propeller-load does what you want. I think the only drawback to it is that there isn't any binary release (apart from the binaries in the PropGCC releases). propeller-load doesn't rely on anything else in PropGCC. For example, the spincvt GUI (https://github.com/totalspectrum/spin2cpp/releases) has a Windows binary of propeller-load.exe that it uses to run code on the Propeller.

DavidZemon

Found docs for PropellerManager
https://github.com/parallaxinc/PropellerManager-docs

T Chap

Prof, out of curiosity if you had an option that was very simple and you could have the source code for a GUI and command line tool for downloading, why does it have to be supported by Parallax?

Heater.

braino,

See my post in your other thread re: official, simple, standalone, command line loader from Parallax for the P1:

http://forums.parallax.com/discussion/comment/1377270/#Comment_1377270

prof_braino

Thanks!

solution is at:

http://forums.parallax.com/discussion/164279/how-to-request-a-parallax-supported-command-line-tool-to-load-the-p1