prc-tools-devel

Current Status of the Project

[Eric B. <eb...@gm...>]

Hey guys, I am wondering what the current status of the prc-tools project is.

Reading some of the older emails, there seemed to be some interest on
using it on Mac.  There was some discussion of possible roadmaps, but
beyond that, I have not seen much activity here.

I know with Palm's expected migration to a Linux based system means
the shelf life may have decreased even more, but there is still a lot
of machines out there that need to be supported (Treos, Centro, etc)
and could benefit from improved compiler tool chain.

Has any progress been made in porting it to use newer gcc compilers
(4.3.1 just released)?  Would moving any of this type of conversation
over to a gcc mailing list be of help?

I am still new to Palm development, so I'd also like to understand the
make up of the project as well.  Is it safe to say you can break the
projects components down into:

- Palm Specific Tools
   * Building prc, pdb, etc
   * Resource Tools

- Compiler Specific Deltas
   * Compiler
   * Linker
   * Bin Tools

Is this safe to say?

Look forward to hearing from you guys, and hope there is still life here.
-- 
Eric Bresie
eb...@gm...

Re: Current Status of the Project

[Ton v. O. <to...@v-...>]

Eric Bresie wrote:
> Hey guys, I am wondering what the current status of the prc-tools project is.
>
> Reading some of the older emails, there seemed to be some interest on
> using it on Mac.  There was some discussion of possible roadmaps, but
> beyond that, I have not seen much activity here.
>
>   
Mac OSX version does exist. Just Google for 'prc-tools macos'.
> I know with Palm's expected migration to a Linux based system means
> the shelf life may have decreased even more, but there is still a lot
> of machines out there that need to be supported (Treos, Centro, etc)
> and could benefit from improved compiler tool chain.
>
> Has any progress been made in porting it to use newer gcc compilers
> (4.3.1 just released)?  Would moving any of this type of conversation
> over to a gcc mailing list be of help?
>
>   
No. John Marshall has been the main driver behind prc-tools. I myself 
have been active with the
debugger (gdb) to get it to support multiple 68k code sections.
The main 'problem' is the segmentation model on the 68k side. All data 
is adressed relative to A5
where A5 points to the *end* of the data area. This also makes C++ 
support a pain.
I am no compiler expert, but you would need a good knowledge of gcc 
internals since gcc 2.95
to get a working gcc 4.x compiler for palmos 68k.
Since, for 68k development, the existing one still works quite well 
(some people might disagree)
there has not been much incentive to do further development.
However for the ARM version it should be quite easy to get the ARM 
palmos version up to date.
Many of the more advanced developers use 100% or almost 100% ARM based apps.
However there is no support for the ARM debugger nub at all in 
prc-tools. You can use the
stand-alone PalmOS debugger from PODS for ARM debugging on the device.
> I am still new to Palm development, so I'd also like to understand the
> make up of the project as well.  Is it safe to say you can break the
> projects components down into:
>
> - Palm Specific Tools
>    * Building prc, pdb, etc
>    * Resource Tools
>   
PilRC (separate project, see pilrc.sourceforge.net) for resources, 
buildprc, palmdev-prep, multigen etc.
See CVS tree and http://prc-tools.sourceforge.net/doc/prc-tools_6.html
> - Compiler Specific Deltas
>    * Compiler
>    * Linker
>    * Bin Tools
>
> Is this safe to say?
>   
Yes (and do not forget gdb).
> Look forward to hearing from you guys, and hope there is still life here.
>   
Hope this is not too disappointing for you.

Ton van Overbeek

Re: Current Status of the Project

[Aaron A. <mai...@mo...>]

On Wed, Jun 11, 2008 at 7:11 AM, Eric Bresie <eb...@gm...> wrote:
> Hey guys, I am wondering what the current status of the prc-tools project is.

it is in limbo :) prc-tools 2.3 seems to be the last version made.

> Reading some of the older emails, there seemed to be some interest on
> using it on Mac.  There was some discussion of possible roadmaps, but
> beyond that, I have not seen much activity here.

as ton said; google "prc-tools macos" - its been done and has been
widely adopted and is in use more than some people can imagine.

> I know with Palm's expected migration to a Linux based system means
> the shelf life may have decreased even more, but there is still a lot
> of machines out there that need to be supported (Treos, Centro, etc)
> and could benefit from improved compiler tool chain.

improve? how? :)

gcc 2.95 was probably the last version of gcc to play with 68000 code
gcc 3.x is being used right now for arm-palmos-gcc, and everyone knows;
due to the manner in which PceNativeCall works that you can use any
arm-elf compiler that is on the market as you dont link against crt.o etc.

ie: you can use the latest gcc for gameboy dev for palm development :)

> Has any progress been made in porting it to use newer gcc compilers
> (4.3.1 just released)?  Would moving any of this type of conversation
> over to a gcc mailing list be of help?

if someone has an ARM version of it - you can already use it.
it wont make sense for 68000 tho.

> I am still new to Palm development, so I'd also like to understand the
> make up of the project as well.  Is it safe to say you can break the
> projects components down into:

google :)

> - Palm Specific Tools
>   * Building prc, pdb, etc
>   * Resource Tools

this is specific to utilies like pilrc, par, etc. not compiler. these tools are
seperately maintained; but may be included within a prc-tools distro.

> - Compiler Specific Deltas
>   * Compiler
>   * Linker
>   * Bin Tools

this is what prc-tools is.

-- 
// Aaron Ardiri ... the "PilRC" guy :)