Some insights from another place..... I use JAL to validate another another 8bit PIC/AVR compiler. Great Cow BASIC.
I am sharing my insights from taking on the development and release management leadership for Great Cow BASIC. Why? Because Open Source tools need to be available to engineers across the world that work and offer a different experience and price point to commercial software. I am not pushing another compiler. So, please DO NOT have a go at me for sharing, or, the fact that this is BASIC. I am very, very willing to provide tooling we use to use to make life easy. ------ The GCB community is key to what we do today and how we do it. The outcomes produced enable people/engineers to discover, use and maintain projects using the compiler and the tool chain. The journey to create the outcomes we have today is totally based on the community. I collate these efforts (including my own efforts) into the releases. The outcomes today are - in no specific order: 1. High quality compiler and supporting tool chain. The IDE, PPSTOOL, etc etc. 2. High quality libraries. A list of libraries is here https://github.com/Anobium/Great-Cow-BASIC-Help/wiki/libraries_overview This may help set a priority on the libraries to include. I can certain provide lots of insights into the development program for the library. 3. Website - with interesting material that is maintained by a webmaster. 4. Forum - a friendly forum. 5. Help - in many formats CHM, PDF, HTML, XML, Git WIKI etc for many different OSs and working practices by users. 6. Demonstrations (1000s of them... and these same demonstrations can be used to the test the compiler, libraries etc. 7. YouTube - tutorials, projects and show & tells 8. Source code - published and controlled 9. Installer - Windows, MacOS, Linux etc. 10. Push messages via Twitter and Social Media. ----- The journey from a ZIP file for a command line Windows compiler that controlled LEDs and an LCD to the project today was as follows: I am assuming the source code repository and forum are ok. 1. Creation of OS specific installers using a continuous build process to enable a consistent user development environment. Assign OS masters [aka lead engineer] (windows, MacOs, LInux etc). 2. Website update using TypeSetter (very easy!) - assign a webmaster. Ensure highest quality. Learn how Google etc assess a website for quality. 3. Establish automated testing using the demonstrations to perform compiler, library and functional testing - you will need a project team to create this capability - we use software R2BUILD to support this activity. 4. Establish automated creation of Help. (I can give you these tools to create the Help outputs) GCB is 438 pages of Help. Assign Editor master. 5. Start YouTube publication of tutorials based on a) chip architecture [we have standard approach for this], b) Libraries show casing and/or c) Major updates. Need to get lots of folks to do this. Start publication of shorts on TikTok. 6. Start Social media comms plan - need to get JAL to top search in major search engines. This has taken 4 years and there is steady community of users. ---- I really hope this posts help the discussion. Evan On Monday, 23 November 2020 at 19:45:16 UTC Jesito's μFabLab wrote: > Hi Rob, > In the first place many thanks for your efforts in keeping up JAL. > All the points you mention are valuable, IMHO youtube has a strong impact, > so I would start by doing some video tutorials with examples there. > Do you know Pic Micro Pascal?. There is a site from Thomas Henry with a > nice series of examples, maybe a similar set but in JAL would be very > helpful. > > https://pic-in-pascal.blogspot.com > > A multiplatform IDE would be nice to see, (Arduino alike?). > > Again many thanks for your nice work! > > Jes. (JAL fan) from Olivella, Spain. > > > > On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 6:42 PM [email protected] <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Hi all, >> >> I am looking for ways to improve the popularity of JAL and I would like >> to hear your reaction on this topic. >> >> Currently JAL is still maintained, that is new device files are generated >> when new PICs are released, compiler issues are fixed (if possible) and new >> libraries are released. In 2020, libraries where created for the following >> devices: nRF24L01+ transceiver, digital potentiometers X9C102, X9C103, >> X9C104, X9C503, TM1637, SSD1306 graphics display module, nRF905 >> transceiver, Si5351a clock generator and a library for DFPlayer Mini. >> >> I would like to see that more people use JAL and more people would like >> to contribute. >> >> Some ideas to get more people interested: >> -) Add more libraries (not sure which though) >> -) Create a multi-platform IDE (Windows, Linux, Mac) >> -) Post Youtube video's about getting started with JAL >> -) Extend the JAL language (not possible by me since fixing compiler bugs >> is not the same as extending the compiler with new features) >> -) .... >> >> Looking forward to your suggestions. >> >> Thanks >> >> Kind regards, >> >> Rob >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "jallib" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/f6209cdc-efb5-4017-8439-6876b86122b5n%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/f6209cdc-efb5-4017-8439-6876b86122b5n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "jallib" group. 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