Reply by Tim Wescott May 28, 20042004-05-28
andrew queisser wrote:

> "Jan Reyneke" <reynekejunk@hotmail.com> wrote in message > news:72218516.0405270646.26b4545e@posting.google.com... > >>Given all the tools out there, what would be the best development >>platform? The obvious choice would be CodeComposer, with all its >>advantages of ease of use and dedication to TI DSPs. Why would we not >>want to use this development platform? >> > > CodeComposer is great if you want to get started quickly. It tries > to make some of the more obscure things easier to digest but it doesn't > stop you from setting up your project however you want. If you're > used to something like VisualStudio then CodeComposer will > be quite familiar. If you're already comfortable using your own > makefiles, linker response files, etc. then you're not going to benefit > as much. > >
But Code Composter does a good job of getting out of the way when you _do_ got to makefiles and whatnot, and the debugger is quite adequate. I usually use those embedded IDE's for debugging with my own editor and I _always_ build from the command line to be able to replicate things on other machines in the team and 2 years down the road when the product is in maintenance. -- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services http://www.wescottdesign.com
Reply by andrew queisser May 27, 20042004-05-27
"Jan Reyneke" <reynekejunk@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:72218516.0405270646.26b4545e@posting.google.com...
> Given all the tools out there, what would be the best development > platform? The obvious choice would be CodeComposer, with all its > advantages of ease of use and dedication to TI DSPs. Why would we not > want to use this development platform? >
CodeComposer is great if you want to get started quickly. It tries to make some of the more obscure things easier to digest but it doesn't stop you from setting up your project however you want. If you're used to something like VisualStudio then CodeComposer will be quite familiar. If you're already comfortable using your own makefiles, linker response files, etc. then you're not going to benefit as much.
> What is the opinion regarding DSP-BIOS? From the posts I have seen so > far, it seems OK, except for the fact that it is proprietary to TI. Is > it suitable for tasks that can become quite mips intensive? Is it > stable and not to buggy? >
I've been using it to get started with simple multitasked apps and it's been good. The DM642 eval board is all set to go with DSP/BIOS so right now that's what I do. There's sample code and the reference frameworks. Whether we'll end up using it in the end is a different question.
> What about optimization? The TI compiler any good at this (I suppose > that this is where it becomes advantages to use a TI tool for a TI > DSP)? >
From what I've heard it's okay. You'll probably still want to hand-optimize the most time critical portions of your code.
> Finally, anything else I should keep in mind or maybe need to know > about development tools and platforms? >
I find TI's documentation pretty confusing. Be prepared to spend some time just sifting through all the SPRAs and SPRUs and so on. It's not like having MSDN on a DVD. Andrew
Reply by Tim Wescott May 27, 20042004-05-27
Jan Reyneke wrote:

> Hi there > > As someone with limited DSP experience, I was wondering if I could get > some guidance from those more experienced DSP developers. The company > I work for is considering a move to a DSP based product, based on the > TI DM642. This is for some quite intensive video processing. The main > question(s) I have is the following: > > Given all the tools out there, what would be the best development > platform? The obvious choice would be CodeComposer, with all its > advantages of ease of use and dedication to TI DSPs. Why would we not > want to use this development platform? > > What is the opinion regarding DSP-BIOS? From the posts I have seen so > far, it seems OK, except for the fact that it is proprietary to TI. Is > it suitable for tasks that can become quite mips intensive? Is it > stable and not to buggy? > > What about optimization? The TI compiler any good at this (I suppose > that this is where it becomes advantages to use a TI tool for a TI > DSP)? > > Finally, anything else I should keep in mind or maybe need to know > about development tools and platforms? > > Regards > > Jan Reyneke
Code Composter is irritating enough to earn an extra 't' in the name, but it has worked OK for me (on the 28xx series). The optimization is pretty good -- but I have yet to find an optimizer that understands the MAC instruction so plan on finding a library function or doing some assembly coding for your central algorithms. I haven't used DSP-BIOS, because we were on the bleeding edge of the 28xx introduction and it wasn't ready yet. We used uC/OS-II (it's developer pronounces it "micro-C oh-ess", we said "muCOS", take your pick). _Any_ RTOS will take significantly more time to do a task switch than an interrupt response, so you'll need to do careful response-time management. And finally, I have yet to meet an embedded development platform that didn't have bugs that were at least irritating but not fatal. They generally allow you to get the job done, but you sometimes have to do weird work-arounds. Code Composter gets a B+ when you grade it on that curve. -- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services http://www.wescottdesign.com
Reply by Jan Reyneke May 27, 20042004-05-27
Hi there

As someone with limited DSP experience, I was wondering if I could get
some guidance from those more experienced DSP developers. The company
I work for is considering a move to a DSP based product, based on the
TI DM642. This is for some quite intensive video processing. The main
question(s) I have is the following:

Given all the tools out there, what would be the best development
platform? The obvious choice would be CodeComposer, with all its
advantages of ease of use and dedication to TI DSPs. Why would we not
want to use this development platform?

What is the opinion regarding DSP-BIOS? From the posts I have seen so
far, it seems OK, except for the fact that it is proprietary to TI. Is
it suitable for tasks that can become quite mips intensive? Is it
stable and not to buggy?

What about optimization? The TI compiler any good at this (I suppose
that this is where it becomes advantages to use a TI tool for a TI
DSP)?

Finally, anything else I should keep in mind or maybe need to know
about development tools and platforms?

Regards

 Jan Reyneke