Getting back into uc after a long Sabbatical. When I ventured into other things, Keil C compiler/assember was the standard 8051 varient s.w. Also, Protel was a very viable printed circuit board layout package.
I don't know what is best or available and accepted today. Could someone give me their advice?
I think Keil is still a "respectable" product -- though I think they were bought (?).
I think the same has happened to Protel (hasn't *everyone* in that market been "bought" -- multiple times???). You can expect price to have gone up :-/
A lot will depend on what you are trying to do, what you have available ($$) to do it, the environment in which you are operating (hobby, business, employee, ...) etc.
Thank you, Simon. I will follow up on your suggestions.
Also, thank you for your assessment of the group's warm feelings about Larwe. You and all of us know that it is diffucult to REALISTICALLY judge someone's persona based upon their responses. However, he/she, to me, came across as someone who was/is ready to jump on someone yet, NOT OFFER REALISTIC HELP OR DETAILS. Perhaps I was wrong in my determination.
I think there are "higher end" programs available (as well as lower), but they are the highest that I've used in depth.
On the compiler side, IAR seems to be well regarded, particularly if you need to work with multiple targets, but I've only played with demo versions briefly.
I'm using a version of Keil that came with my 8051 emulator (a few years old- I think it's pretty stable), and the latest version of Altium (I think V10 due out in a couple of weeks, and I expect some changes..). We switched from Orcad for most stuff about a year ago. It's a bit buggy and quirky, but all such packages seem to be. The 3D features (esp. the ability to work with Mechanical CAD packages) are cute, if a bit clumsy to use at present.
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
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"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Your apology, even if it was to the wrong person (it was Lewin "larwe" you swore at, not linnix), has brought me back to following your thread. But you might want to re-post your apology to the right person, in the right thread.
And /please/ don't top-post. It makes a mess of the posts, disrupts reading order, and conflicts with the standard posting style that is used in this group. Post at the bottom of the previous post, or mixed in with it in answer to questions posed. If posts are getting unwieldy, snip them to fit.
Protel hasn't been bought - it is one of the few remaining mainstream EDA companies that has remained independent. But they changed their name to Altium a number of years ago. And yes, their prices did go up - but so has the amount of tools you get for the money.
They seem to be in the midst of moving to a subscription type system. The entry cost for software including capture and layout has gone down significantly... 2:1 or 3:.. I guess it's working, I bought only one at the high price, then upgraded capture licenses when the price dropped.
For me, a big consideration is the ability to find people with experience, and my guess as to the likelihood the company will be around (and investing in maintaining their product) 5 or 7 years from now... not just sucking cash out of it as fast as they can. Users working with products that have a short design life might not have that particular concern to the same degree.
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
However there are some 40+ manufactures producing some 600 odd 8051 variants. The 8051 is still the most common MCU on the planet (and in good numbers off the planet as there are several rad hardened 8051 MCU's about
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