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Propeller Languages

The Propeller chip is programmed using two languages designed specifically for it: 1) Spin, a high-level object-based language, and 2) Propeller Assembly, a low-level, highly-optimized assembly language.  There are many hardware-based commands in Propeller Assembly that have direct equivalents in the Spin language.  This makes learning both languages, and the use of the Propeller chip overall, much easier to handle.

Spin

The Spin language is compiled by the Propeller Tool software into tokens that are interpreted at run time by the Propeller chip’s built-in Spin Interpreter.  Those familiar with other programming languages usually find that Spin is easy to learn and is well-suited for many applications.  With Spin you can easily perform high-level/low-bandwidth tasks and can even create code to handle some typically higher-bandwidth features like asynchronous serial communication at 19200 baud.

Propeller Assembly

The Propeller Assembly language is assembled into pure machine code by the Propeller Tool and is executed in its pure form at run time.  Assembly language programmers enjoy Propeller Assembly’s nature and its ability to achieve high-bandwidth tasks with very little code.

Objects

Propeller code, called Objects, can be written entirely in Spin or can use various combinations of Spin and Propeller Assembly.  It’s possible to write objects almost entirely in Propeller Assembly as well, but at least two lines of Spin code are required to launch the final application.

Propeller Help Version 1.1

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5/13/2009