Hi all,
As a C++ programmer I would like to start using it in the embedded world. For that I wish to be familiar with a popular IDE on which I can write projects for ARM-based MCUs, from different vendors, be it of ST or others, and get help when running across a problem.
I've some titles in mind such as: IAR and Keil. What are your ideas, please?
Thanks.
Ary said:I'm not sure about the IDEs to select one between them
IDE preference is very much a personal thing - so just try a few to see what you like.
At the end of the day, they all do the same thing - and in pretty similar ways.
As you're already a C++ programmer, you must have some ideas about what you like & dislike in an IDE.
An advantage of using the chipmaker's own IDE is that you have a one-stop-shop for everything - the chipmaker knows all about their chips and all about their IDE, and all about their supporting HALs, SDKs, Middlewares, DevKits, Examples, Debuggers, etc, et.
With a 3rd-party IDE, you will always run into the problem of "is this a Keil question or is this an ST question", etc...
The big thing that's different between "embedded" IDEs and "desktop" IDEs is getting the programming and debugging set up and working, so this is a key thing that chipmakers will focus on getting right in their "own" IDE.
Again, most (the vast majority) of chipmakers' own IDEs are Eclipse-based - so they do have a lot in common.
Eclipse is probably the most widespread "free" IDE
I would say that Keil is probably the most widespread commercial IDE. As Keil is an ARM company, they should be really well placed for the ARM-specific support.
Of the commercial IDEs, Keil does seem to be the most widely supported by chipmakers
A key difference between "free" IDEs and the commercial ones is that the free ones tend to be built on general-purpose stuff - GCC, Eclipse, etc - whereas the commercial ones are generally built from the ground up specifically for embedded use.
Of course, with a commercial IDE, you get professional support; with a "free" IDE, you have to rely on the community.
Do you need/want a cross-platform IDE?
Keil is Windows-only (not sure about IAR).
Thank you for your answers. That was a great help. I have an idea: I try to fix the current problem with St link v2 and STM32Cube IDE. If I can work it out and since the current and next MCUs I work on are of ST, so I stick to STM32 Cube IDE. :-) :-)But unfortunately I can't post my questions here in this great community! :-( :-(
If I can't fix that error, I will go for Keil and install it on my Windows machine. That way, albeit sometimes I may ask myself "is this a Keil question or is this an ST question", etc..., :-( :-(, I can rely on this community's Keil forum help. :-) :-)
ST Community - STM32, General:
https://community.st.com/s/topic/0TO0X000000BSqSWAW/stm32-mcus
STM32 CubeIDE:
https://community.st.com/s/topic/0TO0X000000y2j7WAA/stm32cubeide