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I really like the new PropellerIDE! — Parallax Forums

I really like the new PropellerIDE!

Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
edited 2015-01-22 19:01 in Propeller 1
A special congratulations and thank you are in order for:

Steve Denson - starting the PropellerIDE project
Brett Weir - continuing the PropellerIDE project
Dennis Gately - sorting out some Mac serial port issues
Jeff Martin - keeping it all in order for Parallax
Roy Eltham - for OpenSpin


This software truly completes one part of the Propeller tool chain. It's open source and multi-platform.

I've been running it on a Mac all week without any problem. I'll be making a presentation on Saturday in front of 400+ students and shall use PropellerIDE as my software of choice.

You guys have done a fantastic job and the community recognizes your work! While there's still some to be done, the foundation we're working with is a very stable one.

Thank you from Parallax!

Ken Gracey

P.S. Next up is the iOS tool with WiFi programming for Propeller with Chromebook solutions shortly behind. The iOS solution is going to make people really excited, I'm sure - especially when combined with PropBlockly and an ActivityBot!
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Comments

  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,652
    edited 2014-12-03 18:01
    I'll have to give that a try. I'm pretty entrenched in Prop Tool, but open to new things.
    I thought I saw over in that other thread:
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/158373

    that it used Brad Spin compiler while openspin was further developed...
    Does it compile with openspin now?
    Also, I thought I saw that openspin now has a precompiler. Is that included now?

    When I develop on a Mac now, I do it with a Windows VirtualBox. But, if it has openspin with a precompiler, that might be enough motivation for me..r
  • mklrobomklrobo Posts: 420
    edited 2014-12-03 18:59
    Have not had a chance to use yet, but will very soon. :)
    Can spin be used with PropellerIDE? The last version only
    used C format programming, correct? The propeller tools software
    only uses spin compilation, correct?
    Thanks.
  • msrobotsmsrobots Posts: 3,709
    edited 2014-12-03 19:12
    @mklrobo,

    There are TWO different IDEs out there.

    SimpleIDE for C and Spin

    PropellerIDE for Spin.

    Bothe are basically made by Steve Denson are multiplatform and use QT for GUI-Elements.

    good stuff.

    Enjoy!

    Mike
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    edited 2014-12-03 19:16
    Ken,
    Any chance you can post a video of the training on Saturday???
  • John AbshierJohn Abshier Posts: 1,116
    edited 2014-12-04 07:00
    Is 0.19 the latest? I went to the user manual page on lame station and that link didn't have the manual. I used the search function on the Parallax site and got nothing to show me where the PropellerIDE is located.

    John Abshier
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2014-12-04 07:29
    Is there an easy way to install this into Linux Mint/Ubuntu? The .DEB solution is incompatible.

    Thanks!
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2014-12-04 07:44
    Does it support the @@@ operator in PASM ?

    Bean
  • JonnyMacJonnyMac Posts: 9,105
    edited 2014-12-04 08:15
    Does it support the @@@ operator in PASM ?

    I think that's a BSTC thing that hasn't made it to OpenSpin yet -- but Roy would have to weigh in. Since the compiler can be specified in PropellerIDE, I (and others) asked Brett to look into being able to use BSTC. I need dead code removal for a big project. I have no idea what @@@ is all about, but have seen it in a few listings.
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2014-12-04 08:21
    Jon,
    It gives the absolute HUB address of a label.

    Bean
  • ratronicratronic Posts: 1,451
    edited 2014-12-04 08:46
    I have been using PropellerIDE version 0.19 on the Raspberry Pi and my Windows 7 computer. I would like to thank everybody - it is good that Spin survives!
  • Roy ElthamRoy Eltham Posts: 3,000
    edited 2014-12-04 13:47
    Ray,
    OpenSpin does have a preprocessor, and has for over a year.

    Bean,
    OpenSpin does not support the @@@ operator. I did look into it a while back, and it would be a significant bit of work to make happen in OpenSpin as it stands. On the order of reworking how the objects are compiled.

    Jon,
    I am currently working on dead code removal in OpenSpin at Parallax's direction.

    ----

    I believe PropellerIDE is using OpenSpin as the compiler. I don't think Brett has it able to use BSTC yet. I think Parallax would prefer to stick with OpenSpin, since BSTC is not open source and not being updated.
  • GadgetoidGadgetoid Posts: 47
    edited 2014-12-04 13:55
    ratronic wrote: »
    I have been using PropellerIDE version 0.19 on the Raspberry Pi and my Windows 7 computer. I would like to thank everybody - it is good that Spin survives!

    I managed to get it to compile for and run on the Raspberry Pi, but then can't type anything in the resulting window. Doesn't like keyboard input much! Did you run into this at all?

    Absolutely fantastic IDE, and I was really happy when I could build it on the Mac. I've been trying to tweak the colours, but treading somewhat unknown ground.

    It's brilliant to see such a stellar effort on software to back up the Propeller- PropellerIDE and SimpleIDE absolutely wipe the floor with that heinous crime of an Arduino IDE ( Admittedly probably created and maintained by good people who've painted themselves into a corner ).

    Keep up the good work! And I sincerely hope I can make a meaningful contribution at some point. Running on the Raspberry Pi is top of my list, though.
  • ratronicratronic Posts: 1,451
    edited 2014-12-04 14:37
    Gadgetoid wrote: »
    I managed to get it to compile for and run on the Raspberry Pi, but then can't type anything in the resulting window. Doesn't like keyboard input much! Did you run into this at all?

    The only problem I had with the keyboard was not setting the internationalisation options so some keys put out the wrong characters.
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2014-12-04 15:57
    JonnyMac wrote: »
    I think that's a BSTC thing that hasn't made it to OpenSpin yet -- but Roy would have to weigh in. Since the compiler can be specified in PropellerIDE, I (and others) asked Brett to look into being able to use BSTC. I need dead code removal for a big project. I have no idea what @@@ is all about, but have seen it in a few listings.

    You bet, Jon. Roy, Jeff and I have already got this in the works. We're working closely with Roy to see that the right issues are knocked off, in the right order.

    Unused code will not be compiled.

    We have several big dependencies on PropellerIDE being a complete solution. Your project is one of them.

    Ken Gracey
  • Dr_AculaDr_Acula Posts: 5,484
    edited 2014-12-04 16:21
    P.S. Next up is the iOS tool with WiFi programming for Propeller with Chromebook solutions shortly behind

    That sounds interesting.

    Thinking aloud here, the ESP8266 wifi modules are now around $4. The program on the propeller would need some smarts but essentially - boot up from eeprom, check for a wifi connection (send and receive certain text strings at 115200 baud) , if present, start as a server and wait for commands from an IDE.

    I'm not sure how to pull together an entire package, but I think each part of the puzzle could be quite possible to do. There are programs around that can poll all the 256 devices in a local IP range, so the software that does this could poll for propeller chips. Once one is found, there are lots of different download protocols one could consider.
  • GadgetoidGadgetoid Posts: 47
    edited 2014-12-04 16:31
    ratronic wrote: »
    The only problem I had with the keyboard was not setting the internationalisation options so some keys put out the wrong characters.

    Curious. I just rebuilt and tried again, still absolutely no keyboard input into Propeller IDE. Which QT libraries did you build against? I used the pre-built packages from http://twolife.be/raspbian
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-12-04 16:38
    If you implement an equivalent to @@@, could you designate it some other way, please? I'm sypathetic to the opinion that @@@ is pretty ugly. Perhaps @# or #@? The # hints at something that's available as a constant, which is what the operator sort of implies.

    -Phil
  • ratronicratronic Posts: 1,451
    edited 2014-12-04 17:02
  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2014-12-04 17:26
    Is there an easy way to install this into Linux Mint/Ubuntu? The .DEB solution is incompatible.

    Thanks!

    I've never had any problems installing on Mint/Ubuntu with a .deb package. I've even installed on Debian with .deb packages made with Mint.

    Maybe you can give some specifics about image binaries, OS version numbers, and CPU like i386 or amd64?
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-12-04 18:33
    Here's my experience installing on Linux Mint (KDE). Downloading the package on Firefox automatically invoked the package manager/installer. The installation went without a hitch. But no icon appeared on my desktop, so I had to go looking for the program. 'Found it in /usr/bin, and it started up okay with a "welcome" program in the editor. F9 compiled it just fine after I saved it. But here's where the trouble starts. I plugged in an Activity Board to a USB port. Right away, PropellerIDE recognized a new port on /dev/ttyUSB0. Great! But I thought maybe I'd try the AUTO setting anyway. No dice. Got the message:
    Error is : No such file or directory
    error: opening serial port 'AUTO'

    Okay, so I set the port to the USB port it found. 'Got this error:
    Error is : Permission denied
    error: opening serial port '/dev/ttyUSB0'

    Now I'm stuck. That said, however, I really like that the serial port selector instantly recognizes when a new FTDI chip has been plugged in. If only it could make use of it.

    -Phil
  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2014-12-04 18:51
    A Linux "start menu -> programming" item was added for SimpleIDE, but not for this one yet.

    The most typical problem associated with serial ports is in not having sufficient privilidges for using it. Add your userid to the "dialout" group, then log out and back in again.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-12-04 19:09
    Now my experience installing on Mac OS/X (10.9.5 on a MacBook Pro). The download and installation seemed to go without a hitch. (BTW, it asked me to agree with the MIT license, which I did not have to do on the Linux install.) But then I got this error message.
    The system extension “/System/Library/Extensions/EMUL.kext” was installed improperly and cannot be used. Please try reinstalling it, or contact the product’s vendor for an update.

    Whose product is EMUL.kext? I have no idea.

    Undeterred, I looked for an icon on the desktop. There was none. So I invoked the Launchpad. Found it! Started the program, saved the "welcome" file, compiled it, loaded it (using AUTO, even though /dev/cu.usbserial-DAWKUPU8 appeared right away when I plugged in the Activity Board), and it worked okay. However, the familiar F9, F10, F11 keys that I know and love from the Prop Tool were non-functional. I had to use the tool bar instead.

    -Phil

    BTW, this is really great for my class, since I have one student who did not have a Windows PC at home, and I had to buy a Windows laptop for him so he could do the homework assignments. Next semester, there will be even more non-Windows-at-home students, and I was looking at having to buy more laptops for them. Now I don't have to. -P.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-12-04 19:42
    And now for Windows (7, in this case) -- the only one I really care about for my own use. Download and installation went without a hitch. I was not asked to agree to the MIT license, and I got an icon on my desktop -- yay!. The program seemed to load and run Spin programs okay, and the function keys F9-F11 operated pretty much as I expected. The only anomaly was F11. Loading to EEPROM takes much longer in the Prop Tool than it does here. In fact, I wasn't convinced that the EEPROM had even been programmed until I ran some tests. But sure enough, programming to EEPROM takes hardly any longer than programming to RAM. I'd like to know what shortcut the loader is taking to accomplish this!

    One thing I miss is the progress bar that tells me what the compiler/loader is doing. I also see that F8 loads the program and automatically opens the terminal, instead of showing me a memory map. I liked the memory map. I also like the terminal-opening automation that we've all missed from the BASIC Stamp Editor. How to choose? ...

    -Phil

    Addendum: One thing I've relied on a lot is the ability to insert the Propeller font's special characters into a program. This facility is missing from PropellerIDE. I hope it will be added soon. -P.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-12-04 19:58
    Okay, a suggestion: In most of the IDEs I've used, F9 compiles and runs a program. The Propeller Tool was an exception that I gradually got used to. So why not return to a more natural progression of function keys?
    F7: Find an available Prop chip.
    F8: Compile the program and display a memory map.
    F9: Compile, load and run a program from RAM.
    F10: Compile, load and run a program from EEPROM.
    F11: Compile, load and run a program from EEPROM and automaticaly open the terminal.
    F12: Open the terminal.

    Also, I've noticed that an editor bug from the Prop Tool has somehow made its way into PropIDE: namely, that if I select three lines and hit the tab key, those three lines and the one following it get indented. The BASIC Stamp editor did this right. it would be nice if a Spin editor could, too.

    -Phil
  • dgatelydgately Posts: 1,630
    edited 2014-12-04 20:13
    Undeterred, I looked for an icon on the desktop. There was none. So I invoked the Launchpad. Found it! Started the program, saved the "welcome" file, compiled it, loaded it (using AUTO, even though /dev/cu.usbserial-DAWKUPU8 appeared right away when I plugged in the Activity Board), and it worked okay. However, the familiar F9, F10, F11 keys that I know and love from the Prop Tool were non-functional. I had to use the tool bar instead.

    Mac installations generally do not place app icons on the Desktop. After installation, apps are found in the /Applucations folder or in Launchpad. You can always drag an app's icon to the Dock in order to make it available.

    Mac OS X likes to assign actions to the Function keys by default (Check your Mission Control Systems Preference for what settings are overriding Propeller IDE's). Common Apple-defaults for the Function keys are: F9 = Mission Control, F11 = Show Desktop, F12 = Show Dashboard. You can reset those Shortcuts to "-" and PropellerIDE's function keys will works as expected.

    dgately
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    edited 2014-12-04 20:14
    I have no particular reason to disagree, except that I believe the RAM & Terminal is used more often than EEPROM & Terminal.
    Perhaps the CTL-F9 and CTL-F10 could open the terminal (ie the CTL is the terminal operative)?

    BTW I use RAM rather than EEPROM because..
    1. Don't want to wear out the EEPROM
    2. It is (was) much faster
    3. Allows me to leave an alternate program in EEPROM (such as a LED flasher or serial output message). I readily know that the new code works, or if the old code gets invoked.

    Just my 2c.
    Okay, a suggestion: In most of the IDEs I've used, F9 compiles and runs a program. The Propeller Tool was an exception that I gradually got used to. So why not return to a more natural progression of function keys?
    F7: Find an available Prop chip.
    F8: Compile the program and display a memory map.
    F9: Compile, load and run a program from RAM.
    F10: Compile, load and run a program from EEPROM.
    F11: Compile, load and run a program from EEPROM and automaticaly open the terminal.
    F12: Open the terminal.

    Also, I've noticed that an editor bug from the Prop Tool has somehow made its way into PropIDE: namely, that if I select three lines and hit the tab key, those three lines and the one following it get indented. The BASIC Stamp editor did this right. it would be nice if a Spin editor could, too.

    -Phil
  • dgatelydgately Posts: 1,630
    edited 2014-12-04 20:20
    Also, I've noticed that an editor bug from the Prop Tool has somehow made its way into PropIDE: namely, that if I select three lines and hit the tab key, those three lines and the one following it get indented. The BASIC Stamp editor did this right. it would be nice if a Spin editor could, too.

    I'm not seeing that with the Mac OS X version of PropellerIDE... Is this happening on Win or Linux? I wrote the code (I think, but my memory may not serve) that does this :-(

    AddTAB.jpg


    EDIT... I do see this issue with the Propeller Tool as selecting several lines of text ends up with the cursor placed in front of the first character of the next line. So, the editor places a TAB into the first character position of every line that is within the selection, including the line where the cursor sits... Again, it's not happening with the PropellerIDE running on Mac OS X.


    dgately
    362 x 142 - 15K
  • dgatelydgately Posts: 1,630
    edited 2014-12-04 20:45
    But then I got this error message.
    The system extension “/System/Library/Extensions/EMUL.kext” was installed improperly and cannot be used. Please try reinstalling it, or contact the product’s vendor for an update.

    Whose product is EMUL.kext? I have no idea.

    Phil,

    Do you have the EarthMate app installed or an EarthLink device that you plug into your Mac? Or, possibly you've used something from BerliOS? You may want to check the following link for a solution...

    http://www.schollnick.net/wordpress/2009/12/earthmate-i-just-want-a-friend-emul-kext/

    PropellerIDE contains no .kexts (Mac kernel extensions) or have a dependency on EMU.kext.


    dgately
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-12-04 21:24
    dgately wrote:
    I'm not seeing that with the Mac OS X version of PropellerIDE ...
    Actually, it does happen in the OSX version. Position the cursor ahead of the first character of line 1. Hold down Shift, and hit down-arrow to select that line and however many more you want. Hit Tab. The lines selected and the line that follows will get indented. Now try the same thing in the BASIC Stamp editor, and you will see how it's supposed to work.

    -Phil
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-12-04 21:32
    dgately wrote:
    Do you have the EarthMate app installed or an EarthLink device that you plug into your Mac? Or, possibly you've used something from BerliOS?
    Nope, none of the above. Not that it matters, though; it didn't seem to affect PropIDE's installation or operation.

    -Phil
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