Microchip XC32 v1.40 compiler - PLIB kicked out??? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: benSTmax
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2015, 11:21:16 pm
content: I was checking the Microchip's website today (just to kill some minutes) and I read their latest XC32 compiler (v1.40) doesn't contain PLIB anymore!!!The release notes section for the v1.40 didn't mention anything about the removal of PLIB. On the notes of the v1.32, I saw the link to get the PLIB libraries as separate installer.http://www.microchip.com/pic32_peripheral_libNow, on the PLIB download page I can see the following statement:Peripheral libraries for PIC32MX products are not needed for Harmony development. Microchip recommends using MPLAB Harmony for new projects. To download MPLAB Harmony, click here.No Harmony, please!When coming to 32-bit MCUs, I used both ARMs (from CM0 to CM4) and MIPS (PIC32MX). When using the PIC32MX, PLIB was good for hiding away some of the gory details of the MIPS core.I tried Harmony with on opened mind but it is simply too cumbersome, poorly documented and I don't think I would start using it too soon unless it improves. And I am starting to hate it already ...It seems Microchip wants to push their PIC32 customers to use Harmony even in its poor shape as it is today. If in the future they won't offer PLIB for new parts anymore, I'll forget about PIC32s altogether.

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 12:09:33 am
content: Regrettably, I fear that Harmony has already done so much harm to Microchip that it's difficult to comprehend how they will be able to recover at this end of the MCU market.With their current tool release, which dictates use of the bug infested and bloatware Harmony framework for all PIC32 devices, it's nigh on impossible to create a production ready product for those devices. The favoured option is to use the older MLA. As the PIC32MZ was never supported by MLA, its future isn't bright (irrespective of the record number of silicon bugs, let alone those in the framework).At the upper end MCU world, many previously dedicated PIC folks have been moving to Cortex M3 and M4 as a result.

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 01:04:44 am
content: Harmony... is this a similar thing to ST's cube?If so what's the deal with silicon manufacturers forcing their ideas of abstraction on us. Just give us the damn headers and leave the implementation details to us

author: andersm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 05:48:44 am
content: Quote from: benSTmax on July 02, 2015, 11:21:16 pmThe big compiler warning you've been getting when using PLIB headers for the past few releases didn't tip you off this was going to happen? I think the XC32 1.40 installer also mentioned it.Quote from: AlfBaz on July 03, 2015, 01:04:44 amThe device headers are included with the compiler.

author: neslekkim
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 10:16:46 am
content: The last paragraph on the harmony page leads here:http://www.microchip.com/SoftwareLib.aspxfor non-harmony development, or is that something different?

author: benSTmax
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 10:41:06 am
content: Quote from: andersm on July 03, 2015, 05:48:44 amI saw the compiler warning in the previous versions of the XC32 compiler but I was hoping Microchip to forget about taking it out because of the customer complaints on Harmony. Is there anyone around this forum (with no connection with Microchip whatsoever) to tell us they like Harmony?

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 12:49:45 pm
content: Quote from: neslekkim on July 03, 2015, 10:16:46 amThe PIC32 peripheral libraries are indeed separately downloadable, but they are no longer maintained as I understand it.If you want USB and/or the IP stack, the last actively updated MLA to support PIC32MX was the 15 March 2013 release. For PIC32MZ you have to use Harmony if you want to use USB or IP at all, unless you fancy rolling your own.

author: andersm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 01:06:19 pm
content: Quote from: Howardlong on July 03, 2015, 12:49:45 pmIIRC they've said on their forums that they'll fix bugs, but no new features and no new part support will be added.

author: mazurov
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 06:36:40 pm
content: Just stay with 1.34. FYI, the compiler source is posted, you can build your own if you are that sensitive to the quality of the tools. You may also build your own if you want optimizations after first 60 days. Peripheral support is trivial and not a huge loss; IP, USB stacks are horrible contraptions and shall never be used for anything serious (for any definition of 'serious') anyway.

author: andersm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 06:45:55 pm
content: Quote from: mazurov on July 03, 2015, 06:36:40 pm1.40 rebased from GCC 4.5 to 4.8, which is IMO a significant reason to upgrade.

author: mazurov
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 07:00:18 pm
content: Quote from: andersm on July 03, 2015, 06:45:55 pmIt has been rebased by MC, which is a significant reason to stay away from it till at least ver.1.5.

author: jnz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 07:38:55 pm
content: Quote from: mazurov on July 03, 2015, 07:00:18 pm

author: BloodyCactus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2015, 10:59:02 pm
content: yeah, harmony is still a moving target, breaking crap from release to release. its not even close to stable so I dont know how they expect people to use it.

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2015, 12:11:12 am
content: Quote from: BloodyCactus on July 04, 2015, 10:59:02 pm"Microchip MPLAB® Harmony is the result of a holistic, aggregate approach"So there you have it, but would anyone care to elucidate WTF that means?

author: Sal Ammoniac
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2015, 05:23:24 am
content: Sometimes companies shoot themselves in the foot by pushing poorly implemented frameworks on their customers. But with Harmony, Microchip is shooting themselves in the head.

author: znroot
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 27, 2015, 12:54:44 pm
content: And as now MPLAB harmony don't support C++... If you're going to use it you must keep writing code in C!