DE FACTO STANDARD 8051 C COMPILER AND PCB LAYOUT S.W.?

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.

Intel, along with others, stopped making 8051.

by ARM inc.

Good, D. I appreciate your input.

Yes, so many companies have been bought out. Hard to keep up.

Joe

You could do worse than Keil and Altium (formerly Protel).

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

If you're looking for cheap, try

Depends what you want to do. If it is for a serious job, then maybe Keil etc.

I can't help you with the 8051 compiler, but there are open source PCB packages these days which may be suitable for you. Google for geda and kicad.

If you follow the ARM recommendations in the other thread, then gcc is available for ARM.

Simon.

PS: BTW, since you appear to be new to comp.arch.embedded, I will politely point out that Larwe is well regarded here.

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.

Again, thanks.

Joe

Okay, great, Rocky. Yes, it is for a serious job but I will look and see what that url has to offer.

Yep, I am cheap but I also am willing to go for quality if justified. I used to use Archimedes for a C compiler.

Are you saying that Keil has pcb layout software?

Joe

Hey, Spehro,

Long time no see.

Thanks for the support.

Is Keil and Altium fairly assessed as the top of the line and, if so, what versions?

This is a great group. I think I was here long ago. Not sure.

Joe

Linniz,

Thank you for that input.

It seems, by others comments, that you are a decent fellow. If that is so, I apolgize for my comments about you.

Oh, and Merry Christmas.

Joe

I think you means "larwe" in this and the other thread. You are getting us all confused.

No. Compiler - SDCC, Keil PCB - DesignSpark

Hi, Joe:-

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

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.

mvh.,

David

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

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

In message , Spehro Pefhany writes

Keil still has the edge of the 8051 especially if you need any of the more interesting 8051's. However as you say IAR has compilers for about

Well that is one from each end of the spectrum. :-) Personally I would not bother with SDCC.