I've installed the latest version of GCB and looked at the YouTube tutorial about using PIC-AS. In the tutorial a file 'USE.INI' is modified. Problem is, this file doesn't exist on my PC. Any ideas?
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OK. There are two versions of USE.INI. It was neccessary to convert both before the .S file could be produced but now, when I ask to create a HEX file, I get this error and the GCB hangs.
C:\Program Files\Microchip\xc8\v2.41\pic\lib\c99\htpic-dZ.a:0:: error: (141) can't open library file "C:\Program Files\Microchip\xc8\v2.41\pic\lib\c99\htpic-dZ.a": Invalid argument
(908) exit status = 1
I'm using 'first-start-sample' to try this out. Processor changes have no effect on the failure.
Any help would be appreciated.
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When did you install Great Cow BASIC ? the latest installer has USE.INI installed automatically. So, know when you install is important.
Why is PIC-AS important to you ? PIC-AS has two use cases 1) validate GCASM 2) specific use case for bootloader production. There are many constraints when using PIC-AS as no-one to my knowledge has really tried it (apart from the key users).
Depending when you instal. To set PIC-AS is very simple. A few clicks. There is NO conversion of USE.INI to anything.
So, a few questions from me.
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I donwloaded the latest version and installed it on Monday. The reason for wanting to use it is because I'm writing software for a PIC18F04Q40 which only PIC-AS supports.
I normally write in assembler with MPASM using MPLabX but the change to PIC-AS has brought a level extra complexity thsat I can do without. Hence, the desire to use GCB (back to basics?).
Thanks for the video. I'll take a look at it and see if it throws any light on my problem,
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I see the error of my ways. I'm using Great Cow Basic installed in the directory GCB@syn. The video is using GC studio which I've just downloaded. Obviously, I was looking at an old tutorial which I found by Googleing 'using PIC-AS with Great Cow Basic' whichexplains a lot.
I will try Studio and see if it resolves the problem,
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Here is a private video - it is a deep dive into PIC-AS. It is not for the novice.
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE to my channel I need the subscriptions else I could end up paying for YouTube.
The video is long, the subject is vast.
Yes, you can use GCBASIC as your compiler - that is the easiest. The intent of Great Cow BASIC is mask the complexity of MPASM and PIC-AS etc. The video shows how to do PIC-AS and the many, many hidden things that GCBASIC can do.
Rational for using GCBASIC with PIC-AS.
Validation that GCASM is working as expected. Debugging issues with MPLAB-X simulator.
Extremely complex assembly project where the user has a huge amount of control of the .S produced... so, much that you will need MPLAB-X to debug the code. :-)
Last edit: Anobium 2023-03-22
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This video compares three tools GCASM, MPASM and PIC-AS. The video explains the differences and talks through the use cases for each.
GCASM - the Great Cow BASIC assembler/linker
MPASM - the legacy PIC Microchip assembler/linker
PIC-AS - the modern PIC & AVR Microchip assembler/linker
I would not expect users to use PIC-AS / MPLAB-X unless there is extreme bug, and, there are far better ways to dedug than using PIC-AS / MPLAB-X. :-)
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My current project involves the use of the CWG in the 18F04Q40. Does an #include file exist for this?
I'm curious about your comment that there are better ways to debug. My reason for using MPLabX is that I can run code on the hardware and examine registers during development. If you know a better way I would be pleased to be aware of it.
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The easiest way.. dump the registers via serial, but, MPLAB-X is good.
Re CWG. If you are using MPLAB-X ( or standalone Microchip MCC) then complete the required setup in either tool and then create a GCBASIC sub routine - dead easy.
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I'm back and able to concentrate on GCBasic today. I have installed both Great Cow Basic and GC Studio. I was intending to use Studio and, have started a single file project but in all the tutorials Great Cow Basic seems to be used and, looking at it, the environment seems to be more use-friendly.
So, why the difference between the two and which would you recommend using?
Thanks
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GCODE the new IDE has far more features and it where we are focusing the new features.
SynWrite is fully supported however as this editor is no longer supported the functionality is now locked.
GCCode has the <f4> menu with many. many IDE features. Easy acess to the many and growing number of tools in the tool chain. In the SynWrite IDE these are installed but you have to hunt around to find them. </f4>
GCStudio the front end will update either SynWrite or GCODE. And, from within GCStudio you can select GCODE or SynWrite as your code editor.
I now exclusively use GCODE.
I still do not know why using PIC-AS has any benefit. GCASM is faster. You will be the first person to use PIC-AS beyond myself and Bill Roth - good luck.
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The only benefit in using PIC-AS is that it supports all the new devices. Beyond that, it's a complete pain as I know from having to update assembler code compiled with MPASM to PIC-AS.
My suspicions are that Microchip is determined to force folks who write in assembler into using C.
Thanks for your advice.
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GCBASIC with GCASM supports all the new devices. We are actually ahead of Microchip in supporting the new 8-bit chips.
Currently, PIC-AS is limited to Instructions supported by GCBASIC. So, passing raw ASM may fail when using PIC-AS. I am working with Microchip at the moment to resolve many 18F PIC-AS issues we have uncovered.
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Is there a list, somewhere, of the raw ASM instructions that are supported by GCBasic and do I have to explictly tell GCBASIC that a section is raw ASM?
The documentation seems to imply that it will be automatically recognised but I realise that this was written before the advent (burden?) of PIC-AS.
I suppose that my alternative is to generate the .S file and then insert the ASM sections.
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I now have a simple-ish program of mixed basic and asm which produces .s file without error. I tred to assemble the .s file in MPLabX 6.05 but it produces errors as follows:-
CLEAN SUCCESSFUL (total time: 6ms)
make[2]: No rule to make target 'build/default/production/_ext/570541465/Rochester S28X.o', needed by 'dist/default/production/S28X.X.production.hex'. Stop.
make -f nbproject/Makefile-default.mk SUBPROJECTS= .build-conf
make[1]: [.build-conf] Error 2
make[1]: Entering directory 'C:/Users/paulr/My Drive/MPLabX/Rochester/S28X.X'
make: *** [.build-impl] Error 2
make -f nbproject/Makefile-default.mk dist/default/production/S28X.X.production.hex
make[2]: Entering directory 'C:/Users/paulr/My Drive/MPLabX/Rochester/S28X.X'
make[2]: Leaving directory 'C:/Users/paulr/My Drive/MPLabX/Rochester/S28X.X'
nbproject/Makefile-default.mk:85: recipe for target '.build-conf' failed
make[1]: Leaving directory 'C:/Users/paulr/My Drive/MPLabX/Rochester/S28X.X'
nbproject/Makefile-impl.mk:39: recipe for target '.build-impl' failed
BUILD FAILED (exit value 2, total time: 82ms)
I'm not clear why it would be missing the rule. Can you provide any illumination?
Thanks.
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I've installed the latest version of GCB and looked at the YouTube tutorial about using PIC-AS. In the tutorial a file 'USE.INI' is modified. Problem is, this file doesn't exist on my PC. Any ideas?
I now seem to have created the missing file by running the demo...
OK. There are two versions of USE.INI. It was neccessary to convert both before the .S file could be produced but now, when I ask to create a HEX file, I get this error and the GCB hangs.
C:\Program Files\Microchip\xc8\v2.41\pic\lib\c99\htpic-dZ.a:0:: error: (141) can't open library file "C:\Program Files\Microchip\xc8\v2.41\pic\lib\c99\htpic-dZ.a": Invalid argument
(908) exit status = 1
I'm using 'first-start-sample' to try this out. Processor changes have no effect on the failure.
Any help would be appreciated.
Some basics.
When did you install Great Cow BASIC ? the latest installer has USE.INI installed automatically. So, know when you install is important.
Why is PIC-AS important to you ? PIC-AS has two use cases 1) validate GCASM 2) specific use case for bootloader production. There are many constraints when using PIC-AS as no-one to my knowledge has really tried it (apart from the key users).
Depending when you instal. To set PIC-AS is very simple. A few clicks. There is NO conversion of USE.INI to anything.
So, a few questions from me.
A short video showing how to config and use PIC-AS.
The video also explain the process of generating the HEX in the context og GCASM and PIC-AS.
I donwloaded the latest version and installed it on Monday. The reason for wanting to use it is because I'm writing software for a PIC18F04Q40 which only PIC-AS supports.
I normally write in assembler with MPASM using MPLabX but the change to PIC-AS has brought a level extra complexity thsat I can do without. Hence, the desire to use GCB (back to basics?).
Thanks for the video. I'll take a look at it and see if it throws any light on my problem,
I see the error of my ways. I'm using Great Cow Basic installed in the directory GCB@syn. The video is using GC studio which I've just downloaded. Obviously, I was looking at an old tutorial which I found by Googleing 'using PIC-AS with Great Cow Basic' whichexplains a lot.
I will try Studio and see if it resolves the problem,
Paul - use GCBASIC natively.
Here is a private video - it is a deep dive into PIC-AS. It is not for the novice.
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE to my channel I need the subscriptions else I could end up paying for YouTube.
The video is long, the subject is vast.
Yes, you can use GCBASIC as your compiler - that is the easiest. The intent of Great Cow BASIC is mask the complexity of MPASM and PIC-AS etc. The video shows how to do PIC-AS and the many, many hidden things that GCBASIC can do.
Rational for using GCBASIC with PIC-AS.
Last edit: Anobium 2023-03-22
Here is a follow on video
This video compares three tools GCASM, MPASM and PIC-AS. The video explains the differences and talks through the use cases for each.
GCASM - the Great Cow BASIC assembler/linker
MPASM - the legacy PIC Microchip assembler/linker
PIC-AS - the modern PIC & AVR Microchip assembler/linker
I would not expect users to use PIC-AS / MPLAB-X unless there is extreme bug, and, there are far better ways to dedug than using PIC-AS / MPLAB-X. :-)
Thanks for the link to the video.
My current project involves the use of the CWG in the 18F04Q40. Does an #include file exist for this?
I'm curious about your comment that there are better ways to debug. My reason for using MPLabX is that I can run code on the hardware and examine registers during development. If you know a better way I would be pleased to be aware of it.
The easiest way.. dump the registers via serial, but, MPLAB-X is good.
Re CWG. If you are using MPLAB-X ( or standalone Microchip MCC) then complete the required setup in either tool and then create a GCBASIC sub routine - dead easy.
I'm back and able to concentrate on GCBasic today. I have installed both Great Cow Basic and GC Studio. I was intending to use Studio and, have started a single file project but in all the tutorials Great Cow Basic seems to be used and, looking at it, the environment seems to be more use-friendly.
So, why the difference between the two and which would you recommend using?
Thanks
GCODE the new IDE has far more features and it where we are focusing the new features.
SynWrite is fully supported however as this editor is no longer supported the functionality is now locked.
GCCode has the <f4> menu with many. many IDE features. Easy acess to the many and growing number of tools in the tool chain. In the SynWrite IDE these are installed but you have to hunt around to find them. </f4>
GCStudio the front end will update either SynWrite or GCODE. And, from within GCStudio you can select GCODE or SynWrite as your code editor.
I now exclusively use GCODE.
I still do not know why using PIC-AS has any benefit. GCASM is faster. You will be the first person to use PIC-AS beyond myself and Bill Roth - good luck.
The only benefit in using PIC-AS is that it supports all the new devices. Beyond that, it's a complete pain as I know from having to update assembler code compiled with MPASM to PIC-AS.
My suspicions are that Microchip is determined to force folks who write in assembler into using C.
Thanks for your advice.
GCBASIC with GCASM supports all the new devices. We are actually ahead of Microchip in supporting the new 8-bit chips.
Currently, PIC-AS is limited to Instructions supported by GCBASIC. So, passing raw ASM may fail when using PIC-AS. I am working with Microchip at the moment to resolve many 18F PIC-AS issues we have uncovered.
Is there a list, somewhere, of the raw ASM instructions that are supported by GCBasic and do I have to explictly tell GCBASIC that a section is raw ASM?
The documentation seems to imply that it will be automatically recognised but I realise that this was written before the advent (burden?) of PIC-AS.
I suppose that my alternative is to generate the .S file and then insert the ASM sections.
Please don't waste time in replying as I've got my head round how to insert ASM and also found a way of doing it in BASIC - which is a bonus. Thanks.
Good afternoon,
I now have a simple-ish program of mixed basic and asm which produces .s file without error. I tred to assemble the .s file in MPLabX 6.05 but it produces errors as follows:-
CLEAN SUCCESSFUL (total time: 6ms)
make[2]: No rule to make target 'build/default/production/_ext/570541465/Rochester S28X.o', needed by 'dist/default/production/S28X.X.production.hex'. Stop.
make -f nbproject/Makefile-default.mk SUBPROJECTS= .build-conf
make[1]: [.build-conf] Error 2
make[1]: Entering directory 'C:/Users/paulr/My Drive/MPLabX/Rochester/S28X.X'
make: *** [.build-impl] Error 2
make -f nbproject/Makefile-default.mk dist/default/production/S28X.X.production.hex
make[2]: Entering directory 'C:/Users/paulr/My Drive/MPLabX/Rochester/S28X.X'
make[2]: Leaving directory 'C:/Users/paulr/My Drive/MPLabX/Rochester/S28X.X'
nbproject/Makefile-default.mk:85: recipe for target '.build-conf' failed
make[1]: Leaving directory 'C:/Users/paulr/My Drive/MPLabX/Rochester/S28X.X'
nbproject/Makefile-impl.mk:39: recipe for target '.build-impl' failed
BUILD FAILED (exit value 2, total time: 82ms)
I'm not clear why it would be missing the rule. Can you provide any illumination?
Thanks.
Did it compile using PIC-AS in GCBASIC IDE?
Post the source please.
It did. The source is attached. I'll send you the resultant .s file in a second post
A very quick code review to help you.
You can only have one
#startupin each source file. Build 1228 will not warn users when more that one exists.Just call the subs.
You should retain INITPPS()
See the demo (listed below) to use ALIASing to address the NCO registers. It is a robst method.
Also, this is puzzling me. It may be my lack of knowledge/good practice.
You could use
ANSELA.3 = 1as this is specific to the bit. But, the comment refers to RA4 then sets RA3 ( MCLR) to an analogue input?.s file attached.
....clearly it wasn't. Sorry
MPLAB-X support may not be aligned to PiC-AS support. Probably, the chip (the chip family) is not yet support.
Open a ticket with Microchip. They are about to release v6.10 and they can let you know when it is coming out.
Thanks, that's most helpful.