[comp.sys.intel] 8051 C compilers and related development tools

bender@oobleck.Central.Sun.COM (Michael Bender) (10/15/89)

I'm working on an 8051 project, just using assembly, but we (Sun) purchased
Advanced Automation's assembler/linker/librarian/C-compiler.  Although
I've never used the C compiler, their other stuff works pretty well.

I know also that INTEL has a C compiler for the 8051 family also,
but I've never used it - it runs under MSDOS, and we needed something
that would run on a Sun under UNIX, hence the AA software.  In my
searches several months ago for ICE's and software, not many vendors
offer their stuff on UNIX (I don't know if that's important to you).
A good ICE that I've used for my development is HMI's 8051 ICE; they
sent me the source to their ICE interface software and I got it up on
a Sun without too many problems.  The major peeve that I have with
all the ICE and asm/link/lib software I've run under UNIX is that
most of it is transplanted PC software and expects the text screen
to be memory mapped - running under UNIX they have to simulate it
and it can get quite slow at times.  The ICE itself along with the
code development utilities run quickly enough, it's just that some
of these packages insist that the development engineer is too stupid
to use command-line mode to do anything other than go and reset the
processor, the rest is all in full-screen menus; for the PC user that's
probably not too bad, but of course where I work it's a lot easier
to get a Sun than a PC.  I haven't tried the software under a DOS-
windows type of product that we sell.

I've got a more complete list of ICE's and software for code devlopment
at work, E-mail me if any of you are interested.

mike bender
sun
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