How on earth do I use prop with C++...?

John Board

Hi.

I've downloaded Catalina etc etc etc, but where can I find out how to program the prop in C/C++, for example, how do I turn on an LED in C?

Thanks,

John

P.S. Can you get me quite a few examples to play around with, and also how to use Catalina, Thanks

RossH

John Board wrote: »

Hi.

I've downloaded Catalina etc etc etc, but where can I find out how to program the prop in C/C++, for example, how do I turn on an LED in C?

Thanks,

John

P.S. Can you get me quite a few examples to play around with, and also how to use Catalina, Thanks

Hi John,

Depending on what you want to do, this may be the wrong forum for this post - but I'll try and point you in the right direction ...

First, Catalina is an ANSI C compiler. It does not support C++, and is not at all associated with Parallax. There is development of a GCC C/C++ compiler, which is the subject of this particular forum. It is currently in alpha release, but if you want to try it out then I'm sure someone more familiar with it will jump in to help you out.

On the other hand, if you need help with Catalina, then I'm happy to help. First of all, I will assume you are running under Windows and have installed both Catalina and the Code::Blocks IDE (these are both installed by default if you just used the Windows installer). If not, please download the Windows "one touch" installer, run it and follow the instructions (mostly, just accept the defaults). On Linux things are more complex, and you will have to read the documentation contained in the Linux release itself.

Then the quickest way to get started is to read the CodeBlocks QuickStart guide - you can open this document from the Catalina entry in your Windows Start menu.

The only tricky bit is usually configuring Catalina for your particular Propeller platform. Let me know what you have, and I'll be happy to help you further.

Ross.

jazzed

Hello John.

Propeller GCC has a set of toggle demos that show different ways to light and toggle LEDs.

The demo package which is available separately from the compiler is downloadable here.
Current Propeller-GCC compiler v0_2_2 packages are available here.

Below are two simple Propeller-GCC examples that toggle all pins except the TX/RX IO pins.
One can connect LEDs and current limiting resistors between Propeller IO pins and ground.

#include "propeller.h"

int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
    int mask = 0x3fffffff;
    int freq = CLKFREQ>>1;
    DIRA = mask;
    for(;;) {
        OUTA ^= DIRA;
        waitcnt(freq+CNT);
    }    
}

#include "propeller.h"

// this is a bit more elaborate than required, but
// it shows usage of a basic C++ class
class pinset {
private:
  // these variables are not accessible outside the class
  unsigned int mask;  // which pins are in this set
  unsigned int freq;  // the frequency at which to toggle them
public:
  // here are the public variables and methods

  // the basic constructor
  pinset(unsigned int m, unsigned int f) {
    mask = m;
    freq = f;
    DIRA |= m;
  }

  // the run loop
  void run(void) {
    for(;;) {
      OUTA ^= mask;
      waitcnt(freq+CNT);
    }
  }
};

int main(void)
{
  // create a set of pins to toggle at 2Hz
  pinset allpins(0x3fffffff, CLKFREQ>>1);

  // now go and toggle them, forever
  allpins.run();
}

Ken Gracey

John Board wrote: »

Hi.

I've downloaded Catalina etc etc etc, but where can I find out how to program the prop in C/C++, for example, how do I turn on an LED in C?

Thanks,

John

P.S. Can you get me quite a few examples to play around with, and also how to use Catalina, Thanks

Hey John,

Looks like jazzed pointed you to the samples. We are also developing sample code around the new Propeller Board of Education (to be posted on learn.parallax.com). As noted above, PropGCC is in Alpha stage now but can be used as a command-line interface. The front-end Eclipse is programming now and we're working on the debugger integration. The beta will go into effect the first week of March and it will be released as our official tool shortly thereafter. Future support for Propeller 2 will be designed as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Ken Gracey

John Board

Wow, thanks!

I think that a Prop BOE will be great, I know that many a time I have "shelved" the prop because of the hastle of getting it set up with the equipment that I have. Having a BOE board for testing sensors etc will be great!