Why is there no Prop C compiler (Prop-GCC perhaps?)?

PointDog · 2007-06-23 07:35

Hi All, I have a question, I guess for the propeller designers. Why is there no C compiler for the propeller? It seems a waste to have an 80Mhz 8 core processor, and either have to slow it to 80K I.P.S. using spin, or have to learn yet another ASM language along with all it's quirks, and the associated complexity of using ASM as opposed to a semi-high level language like C that runs almost as fast as hand coded ASM.

Also, I have a plethora of source code in C for various peripheral chips and functions that would be simple to port to the prop if there was a c compiler.

I have a feeling there is a good reason for this lack of language support, because the propeller is nothing short of state-of-the-art, and the spin language, has a lot of well-thought-out features that shows intelligent design.

I was looking for a higher powered processor than the PIC18 about 12 months ago, and the only thing that made me choose the PIC24 over the prop was the lack of C support for the prop. I am now looking for a faster processor than the PIC24, and will probably bypass the prop for an atmel ARM 32bit microcontroller. Programming for a single core processor with hardware peripherals is harder than the multi-core architecture of the prop, but easier than adopting a new non-portable language.

So, why no C?

Thanks.

Capt. Quirk · 2007-06-23 07:42

Did you see the top Sticky

PointDog · 2007-06-23 07:46

Sooo sorry, I feel like an idiot. Thanks, $199 (US, i assume) is a bit steep, but i'd probably pay it to use the propeller in C. Thanks for pointing it out, I couldn't see the forest for the trees.

Why is there no Prop C compiler (Prop-GCC perhaps?)?

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