8 bit microcontroller market
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From: Didi on 1 Sep 2006 09:03 > .... and they just announced that their IDE and > C compiler are now free (I guess this applies to all their target > families). For the life of me, I can't understand why chip makers > haven't done this sooner. Typically they just retain control over whatever they can, it is not about direct sales of tools. Try asking for the JTAG based debugging port of the Freescale PPC parts (they call it COP), the best answer they have is that it is too huge an effort to make the data public, or something similarly ridiculous. Same goes about the internals of CPLDs and FPGAs, btw, although their manufacturers are way more honest about their motivation - which is after all acceptable, it's their busyness. In other words, nowadays I would not expect manufacturers to release vital data or development tools for free before being forced to do so by the competition.... Dimiter ------------------------------------------------------ Dimiter Popoff Transgalactic Instruments http://www.tgi-sci.com ------------------------------------------------------ Eric wrote: > Jim Granville wrote: > > > Zilog is doing some smart things... > > Their ZNEO looks promising, and they just announced that their IDE and > C compiler are now free (I guess this applies to all their target > families). For the life of me, I can't understand why chip makers > haven't done this sooner. > > Microchip was one of the first to give away their IDE, but that didn't > include a C compiler. Atmel's newly enhanced gcc support in their AVR > IDE is a nice touch (their debugger is particularly nice as an > alternative to the commandline gdb), but Zilog is the first company I > know of to give away a commerial C compiler and IDE with no code size > limits. > > I hope this signals a trend in the industry. Chip-makers need to figure > out if their primary business is selling chips, or IDEs. Giving away > software tools has always seemed like a no-brainer to me. If I were a > chip-maker I'd also give away good libs to support my on-chip > peripherals... > > Eric
From: Joerg on 1 Sep 2006 11:38 Hello Eric, > >>However, there is one thing that I regularly had to consider as a >>manager or when designing uC into otherwise analog circuitry for my >>clients: Availability of programmers. This is where (so far) the 8051 >>has beaten all others hands down. > > I agree that there's more programmers in the 8051 world today, but I > wouldn't agree to take a new permanent job that doesn't let me dabble > in Arm7 or MSP430 parts at least some of the time. > We needed contractors, only for a while. Other than that, yes, if the newer parts are cost efficient and here to stay progress should take place. However, all but the 8051 series has one common problem: Single source. In most industries people try their darndest to avoid designing in a single-sourced part. Only if there really, really is no other option. -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com
From: Joerg on 1 Sep 2006 11:41 Hello Steve, > >>Another thought is about what you want to do with it and whether the mfg >>supplies enough info for the task at hand. For example, twice I had >>considered the MSP430 because it would have been a glove fit but I was >>unable to crank details about the DCO and port drivers/receivers out of >>TI. > > or even basic A/D info > Amen! That info, or rather the lack of it, is probably going to sink TI's next potential design-win. There just isn't enough data for the F2013's 16bit converter. -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com
From: Yuriy K. on 1 Sep 2006 18:47 Joerg wrote: >>> However, there is one thing that I regularly had to consider as a >>> manager or when designing uC into otherwise analog circuitry for my >>> clients: Availability of programmers. This is where (so far) the 8051 >>> has beaten all others hands down. What's the difference? CPU core type does not matter as soon as it is fast enough to handle the task. Programmer who can handle only 8051 core shall be fired for the incompetence. > However, all but the 8051 series has > one common problem: Single source. In most industries people try their > darndest to avoid designing in a single-sourced part. Only if there > really, really is no other option. I feel pity for these people. Not much can be built out of only resistors, capacitors ans 2n3904s... WBR, Yuriy.
From: Ulf Samuelsson on 3 Sep 2006 12:28
>> The AVR does not make it into this most... list, yet but it is >> definitely a another "force" in the 8-bit. > > Interesting because I found a news item from just a few years ago that > claimed the AVR had 30% of the 8 bit market. I think you find that it was related to Flash Microcontrollers, not any microcontroller. The AVR has pretty high marketshare for flash micros, but I have no clue about the absolute figures. >> Going with any of these architectures should be fairly save for years >> to come. > -- Best Regards, Ulf Samuelsson This is intended to be my personal opinion which may, or may not be shared by my employer Atmel Nordic AB |