How to start the programming of P2 ?

Paulus

Dear all, new chips and boards are very near, some documents are ready or in a process. However, I wonder how to start the programming ? Is there some IDE similar to P1 ready for download ? Thanks a lot

ersmith

There is FlexGUI, which works for both P1 and P2 and supports PASM, Spin, BASIC, and C. It's available from:

https://github.com/totalspectrum/flexgui/releases/latest

Download the "flexgui.zip" file, unzip it, and run flexgui.exe.

brucee

Since I don't have a P2 yet, I downloaded this on a Win10 system, and started it up and switched to P1. Got this error message though it did allow me to switch by ignoring the error

brucee

I'll give you 2 thumbs up on performance of these compilers, much faster than the gcc. -- at least on very simple programs.

PropGuy2

I think what is needed here is a detailed (excruciatingly detailed) step-by-step profusely illustrated process booklet(?) on how to hook up every wire, every cable, every click of the mouse, every step needed to get the P2 programmed and running. Not just a link to a website and have at it. Not an error message with no resolution on what the problem is. Not a "What next question" - but actual working setups, wiring, and programming examples so that anyone with no prior Prop2 experience can do without Frustration and Gnashing of teeth! IOW imparting the knowledge of these Discussion Groups to everyone else out there.

ersmith

@brucee: thanks for the bug report. I accidentally uploaded the wrong file. I've fixed that now, so if you re-download flexgui.zip you won't get that error any more (although as you discovered it was harmless).

ersmith

PropGuy2 wrote: »

I think what is needed here is a detailed (excruciatingly detailed) step-by-step profusely illustrated process booklet(?) on how to hook up every wire, every cable, every click of the mouse, every step needed to get the P2 programmed and running. Not just a link to a website and have at it. Not an error message with no resolution on what the problem is. Not a "What next question" - but actual working setups, wiring, and programming examples so that anyone with no prior Prop2 experience can do without Frustration and Gnashing of teeth!

I expect all that will be available when the P2 goes into production, but you do realize (I hope) that we're still at the "engineering sample" stage. The P2 hasn't even officially been released yet. The samples are very exciting, but they don't represent a polished final product, and you can't really expect Parallax to support them like a final product either.

At the moment the only official tool from Parallax is the PNut assembler. There are other tools available (like Catalina, TaqOZ, and FlexGUI) but they're contributed by volunteers, and it's hardly fair to expect those volunteers to have production ready tools and documentation ready for a chip which isn't even in mass production yet.

samuell

ersmith wrote: »

PropGuy2 wrote: »

I think what is needed here is a detailed (excruciatingly detailed) step-by-step profusely illustrated process booklet(?) on how to hook up every wire, every cable, every click of the mouse, every step needed to get the P2 programmed and running. Not just a link to a website and have at it. Not an error message with no resolution on what the problem is. Not a "What next question" - but actual working setups, wiring, and programming examples so that anyone with no prior Prop2 experience can do without Frustration and Gnashing of teeth!

I expect all that will be available when the P2 goes into production, but you do realize (I hope) that we're still at the "engineering sample" stage. The P2 hasn't even officially been released yet. The samples are very exciting, but they don't represent a polished final product, and you can't really expect Parallax to support them like a final product either.

At the moment the only official tool from Parallax is the PNut assembler. There are other tools available (like Catalina, TaqOZ, and FlexGUI) but they're contributed by volunteers, and it's hardly fair to expect those volunteers to have production ready tools and documentation ready for a chip which isn't even in mass production yet.

The product is polished (although a final revision may be needed), but the documentation is not (too terse). It is just my opinion, anyway.

Kind regards, Samuel Lourenço

jmg

ersmith wrote: »

... The samples are very exciting, but they don't represent a polished final product, and you can't really expect Parallax to support them like a final product either....

I don't think there are currently any plans for a respin, so if no issues are found in this wider release, this die will actually be the 'polished final product'.
As more and more is confirmed working, on P2ES2, the likelyhood of any respin keeps reducing.

evanh

Still 6+ months to go before general production. The current package is still labelled with an ES suffix on the part number.

ersmith

jmg wrote: »

ersmith wrote: »

... The samples are very exciting, but they don't represent a polished final product, and you can't really expect Parallax to support them like a final product either....

I don't think there are currently any plans for a respin, so if no issues are found in this wider release, this die will actually be the 'polished final product'.
As more and more is confirmed working, on P2ES2, the likelyhood of any respin keeps reducing.

Perhaps I wasn't clear -- I did *not* mean that the chip itself will change. But the "polished final product" is more than just the chip, it's the whole ecosystem around the chip -- not just the hardware, but also tools, examples, and documentation (those are the "polish", if you will). I'm trying to set realistic expectations. The hardware is (we hope) finished, but the software and documentation is not. As far as I can see the current crop of P2s are engineering samples, not intended for general use.

But of course I cannot speak for Parallax, and I'm sure they'll correct me if I'm wrong.