Re: Which PIC18 C Compiler?

From: TP (name_at_usenet.com)
Date: 07/11/04 

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 13:01:15 -0500

On 8 Jul 2004 22:32:36 -0700, tronnort@yahoo.com (David L. Jones)
wrote:

>"Talal Itani" <titani@airmail.net> wrote in message news:<cckb50$cl9@library2.airnews.net>...
>> Hello,
>>
>> I currently have an ICD2 from Microchip. I use it to develop PIC16 code
>> using the MPLAB debugger and assembler. I need to move to the PIC18 parts
>> and C language, but I am struggling figure out the development tools to get.
>> Do you have any experience with the CCS compiler running with MPLAB and
>> ICD2? ($175 solution)
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Talal
>
>I don't have experience with the 18 series compilers, but for the 16
>series the HiTech ones beats the pants off the CCS compiler, much more
>professional. At the time I needed to do floats in printf() and the
>CCS compiler wouldn't do it.
>The HiTech compiler also sensibly uses the acutal register names as
>used in the data***, so you can simply go PORTA=123 etc. I would
>avoid any compiler which doesn't allow this as standard.
>
>The 18 series HiTech compiler uses their new HiTide windows interface.
>Gotta be better than the DOS version on the 16 series compiler.
>Although I now integrate the PIC-C compiler with the MPLAB program,
>it's painless.
>
>If you can afford it, go for the HiTech compiler. Although the CCS one
>will probably do you just fine if you are on a budget.
>
>Dave :)

I've used both HiTech and CCS compilers and prefer the CCS. The
main reason is that at the time HiTech operated in a DOS window and
you could only see something like 14 lines of code at a time and long
comments would extend past the limits of the DOS window. I am using
CCS now with both 16 and 18 series PIC microcontrollers with no
problems. The issue of CCS not using the actual register names
is a disappointment but is remedied by creating a header file that
assigns those names. This is how HiTech does it--you just have to
provide the file yourself if you use CCS and want to use the register
names verbatim. I used the HiTech header file as a guide to create
one for CCS.

TP