On 14/09/13 02:45, Brendan Conoboy wrote: > On 09/13/2013 12:12 AM, David Brown wrote: >> Do you know of any timeplans for when it will be possible to get >> "official" toolchain snapshot packages with gcc, binutils and a library >> as prebuilt packages and source bundles? As a developer, I can play >> around with a self-built gcc, but for professional work it is critical >> to be able to say "I am using TI's msp430 gcc toolchain version >> 2013-09-12" and know that the library and the code generators are >> identical (including bug-for-bug) whether I use that release on Windows >> or Linux, and whether I get it now or in ten years time. >> >> I don't mind whether it is Red Hat or TI that handle such packaging and >> releases, but that's what we need. Getting the port working and into >> the FSF tree is the biggest step in this journey, but it would be nice >> to know the timeframe forward. > > This particular detail is a work in progress. I would hazard a guess > that TI will be able to comment in the not too distant future. >
That's fine. I just wanted to be entirely sure that it is coming - I've seen enough vendors get this wrong in the past. I have no doubts that Red Hat understands the importance of proper packaging, versioning, and the importance for users that they can get exactly the version they need, for whatever platform they need, whenever they need it - and that they can install and use multiple versions at the same time. But TI has not yet proved itself in this area (of course, I have no reason to think they will get it wrong - I just don't know yet), and I have seen Atmel get it wrong with the avr port of gcc. I have told Atmel about this, but they just do not seem to understand the issue - so I hope that TI can learn here and do things even better. (I don't want to "talk down" Atmel here - they do a good job of supporting the avr gcc port, and the avr gcc developers and maintainers are fantastic - but a few small steps would make things very much better.) The problem Atmel has is they believe "the latest toolchain is always the best". Thus the latest version of their IDE always installs the latest compiler toolchain over old toolchains. Even the "toolchain only" installers insist on "upgrading" the existing versions and overwriting the users PATH - there isn't even any options to avoid this. (This applies mainly to the Windows installers, of course - their Linux toolchain packaging is better.) In embedded development, toolchain versions can be critical - so the common rule is that if a project is started with a particular toolchain version, it stays with that version. Changing versions is a major change to the project, and will require new rounds of qualifications and testing as well as perhaps changes to Makefiles, linker setup, etc. So my development machines typically have many versions of the same toolchain for the same target - you never know when you need to make a small change to an old project from years ago. So my ideal is that whenever you (TI and/or Red Hat) release a new version of the toolchain, you provide a bundle of gcc, binutils and libraries of a particular version. The package should be available for Windows (as a zip file of the directory, and as a "setup.exe" installer for the point-and-click crowd - not everyone is as fussy as me), as a pre-build binary tarball for Linux (32-bit x86 version would be enough for most cases), and as a source tarball (for archiving and for other systems). Some people might like a Mac version too. And all these packages should be put in an archive that is available for ever after. I am a professional developer - if such a service costs money, then that's okay. The most convenient method is that my company buys chips from TI and TI uses some of that profit to pay for the development tools (and Red Hat's services, of course!) - i.e., the tools are "free" to the end user. And of course payment for service and support is fine too - I am sure Red Hat and TI will figure something out here. If my description here sounds patronising, or "preaching to the converted", then I am very happy. David ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LIMITED TIME SALE - Full Year of Microsoft Training For Just $49.99! 1,500+ hours of tutorials including VisualStudio 2012, Windows 8, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, MVC 4, more. BEST VALUE: New Multi-Library Power Pack includes Mobile, Cloud, Java, and UX Design. Lowest price ever! Ends 9/22/13. http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=64545871&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk _______________________________________________ Mspgcc-users mailing list Mspgcc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/mspgcc-users
