graphical programming environment for pic ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 31, 2012, 08:59:28 pm
content: I'm just watching the pathetic videos on the microchip website. One is interesting, they produced a picdem educational board that takes 8, 18 & 20 pin pics and there is going to be a visual environment for programing with flow charts. This video was a while ago, and i guess the software is usable on any pic, so what happened ? did it get ditched ?I know nothing will replace hard writing code, but for applications where timing is not important it would be ideal.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 31, 2012, 09:31:58 pm
content: so what happened to microchips offering ?Yes ultimately nothing can replace learning proper code, I expect you can only do so much "graphically"

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 31, 2012, 11:00:55 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on October 31, 2012, 09:31:58 pmhttp://www.microchipdirect.com/searchparts.aspx?q=flowcode&resperpage=10

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 01, 2012, 06:43:32 am
content: Quote from: jucole on October 31, 2012, 11:00:55 pmAh, another buyout, so when this board was advertised for $125, 49 or more of that is for the software

author: ptricks
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2012, 12:59:02 pm
content: Not sure of how often it is updated, but great cow basic for pics has both graphical and code based programming and is free.http://gcbasic.sourceforge.net/edit:Looks like it is updated fairly frequently.http://gcbasic.sourceforge.net/update.htmlQuote

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 01, 2012, 01:03:50 pm
content: latest news 2010 hm, problem is no one wants to talk about basic, that's why I started learning C, and as for ansi C and universality - yea, yea, no different to basic, things are specific I don't care what people say/

author: Jon Chandler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2012, 01:37:57 pm
content: I useSwordfish Basicand find it a powerful, simple way to make decent code quickly. It works with the 18F-series only.Its format is similar to Visual Basic and uses modules to add needed features (UART or I2C for example). A good feature is that all of the modules are written in the same language, so you're not dependent on the developer to make updates to support new chips or to change functionality if you don't like the way something works.The Special Edition is limited in the size of code that can be generated, but it's free and powerful enough to handle many applications. The pay version is required for USB and SD-card support but it's well worth the price.Many applications can be found atDigital-DIY

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 01, 2012, 01:44:13 pm
content: Good god man you can't go around admitting to using basic !, the populous will stone you to deathI found basic to work fairly well for me (mikroBasic) but plunged into C and "think" i am getting there

author: Jon Chandler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2012, 04:15:28 pm
content: Good point. I should have kept my mouth shutbut it does work well for me.I've never used any of the MikoE languages - the reviews always seem to be kind of mixed.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 01, 2012, 05:50:02 pm
content: The interface is pretty good, better than maplab 8, maplabx has somewhat go even with them. It a little simpler and has libraries but you have to take into account that the libraries are a bit shit.

author: Pak_Engineer
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2012, 07:29:34 pm
content: No doubt flowcodev4 is a powerful little tool when it comes to quick prototyping but ultimately is going to lag in features. I believe they introduced global variables in v5 duhh.. If you're keen to switch to c then look no further than ccs c. I've used mikroC as well and although it has slightly better libraries and examples, is ultimately overshadowed by ccs in performance and flexibility.

author: DerekG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2015, 10:15:20 am
content: Quote from: Simon on October 31, 2012, 09:31:58 pmMicrochip was also going to offer the graphical programming software called Realizer. It is developed by Actum Solutions in the Netherlands (www.actum.com). The deal to resell the Realizer software never came to fruition.ST offer a version (used to cost about AUD$300 many years ago for the ST6 & ST7 micros). I bought this, then migrated to the Pic micros. It cost about AUD$3600 to support the PIC12 & 14 parts.ST still offer a fairly cheap version of Realizer which Actum still update. Obviously there are enough seats involved to keep their interest in ST7/STM8 micros.I love it & use it for about 60% of my projects. When I studied I was taught all about glue logic & this is the way Realizer "draws its flow chart" on the screen. It also has a great Simulator so that you can test your "diagram" before programming the chip.I would not recommend though that anyone consider starting with it now, unless you can get it really cheap. FlowCode Version 6 can do so much more & of course now Raspberry Pi & Arduino have hit the scene.Realizer have not kept up with the latest Microchip releases. I have just had a look & the last Realizer release that supported Microchip micros was in December 2011.Quote from: Simon on November 01, 2012, 01:44:13 pmI use microEngineering Labs Pic Basic Pro, but it too has not received a substantial update since 2011/12.Again, it appears that the interest in C, FlowCode & the Raspberry Pi & Arduino have pretty much taken this space these days.

author: DerekG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2015, 12:30:48 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on October 31, 2012, 09:31:58 pmTake a look at Microchip's new offering called MPLAB Code Configurator."The MPLAB® Code Configurator is a FREE graphical programming environment that generates seamless, easy to understand C code that is inserted into your project. Using an intuitive interface it enables and configures a rich set of peripherals and functions."http://www.microchip.com/pagehandler/en_us/devtools/code_configurator/home.html#