Microchips new MPLAB X and PIC32 Starter Kit running on Ubuntu

This weekend I decided to push the limits of my own skills and Microchip and see if I could install MPLAB on Linux, then run and compile to a PIC32 Starter kit. I have never considered going along and just being normal. I think stuff needs to be pushed and used in different ways. Its only then you find out how stuff works and find out if there are holes in it.

First then is why install and use Linux? Well we are now in a world of Vista and Windows 7 which yes MPLAB will install and run fine. But I write code for PICs allot and have found that both OS’s like to crash with MPLAB. So in-order to get my job done my expensive laptop has been down graded to XP - now crash free!

So when it cames to running a OS at home I decided its either XP or something else - that something else is Ubuntu. But could I install and run MPLAB on it. Well no as currently MPLAB is Windows only - however Microchip are bringing out MPLAB X. This is a Beta 5 as of this blog and its Java based (netBeans) so will run on any platform. So why not try it on Ubuntu.

Downloading was easy but I found my self looking at a BIN file that I did not know what to do with. Lucky for me I know a Linux Guru who explained I needed to make the file ‘Executable’ and then run it from the command line.

> Type Following >

> sudo chmod u+x insertfilenamehere.bin

> sudo ./insertfilename.bin

I also downloaded and installed the complier in the same way as above. Its a bit of a fiddle and sad that you can’t ask MPLAB X to download and install the compliers for you, or explain the install for Linux. If your going to make it work on all platforms, give me instruction for all platforms not a just a Windows install example!

OK so that done I got the PIC32 Starter kit out the box and hooked it up. Like all nice Dev kits it come on a nice looking PCB, even if it looks like a Windscreen Ice Scraper, and on-board debugging host. There was no problems identifying the device over USB or in MPLAB X finding it in the tool chain. So it was time to see if it would compile the project.

The PIC32 comes with a CD which I guess pre-dates MPLAB X so the install programs are again only focused on Windows and the example project is in MPLAB 8 format. The new MPLAB X IED has a totally new project structure but dose include a conversion tool that you select when creating a project for the first time. This all works fine and the compile, download and run to the target with no problems.

In all the new IDE works very well but I found it a little sluggish from hitting buttons to responding. I down know if this is a Linux thing or just MPLAB X but other programs on my Ubuntu install work perfectly. I’ll not go into too much detail about the IED as I think I have covered everything in my blog about the EDF back in November.

So what did I think of the PIC32 Starter kit - well I can only say “Nice but Dim!”. The whole idea of the Starter kit is really empty, you get three LEDs and three buttons on a micro designed to go massively fast and do amazing stuff. OK the DMA example of flashing the LEDs via PWMs is good as it needs no processor interaction and runs all on its own, but that about it. There is an expansion slot that allows you to plug into other premium rate development boards but that's all more cash! Why could I not have easy assess connections to wire up my own stuff? Sorry bit of a one trick pony unless you spend lots more and would have been a lot better had it been designed like the MiroStick development board.

Over all I’ll be sticking with MPLAB X running on my Ubuntu computer at home but will be putting the PIC32 Starter kit back in the box until winter - scrap-scrap! ;o)

Paul ( @monpjc )

UPDATE:

From MPLAB X Beta5 you can now use PICKit2's as support has been added.!