Dual C18 Compilers and MPLAB?

[RyanN]

I know there has to be someone that has done this as it seems like it could be a common problem.

Here are my needs:
I need MPLAB v7.20 and the C18 Compiler v2.40.
I need MPLAB v8.10 and the C18 Compiler v3.10.

How do I dual install both of these to work.

I'm trying to program VEX robots this week, so I have to use my v7.20 and v2.40 of MPLAB and C18.

I also need to program our FRC robot this week, and we use Kevin's code, and we need MPLAB v8.10 to open the file, and we have been using v3.10 of C18.

Another alternative would be to find VEX code compatible with MPLAB v8.10 and C18 v3.10.

I've tried to install both before, but as anyone can guess, it didn't do so well.

Any help or advice?

[billbo911]

Originally Posted by RyanN

I know there has to be someone that has done this as it seems like it could be a common problem.

Here are my needs:
I need MPLAB v7.20 and the C18 Compiler v2.40.
I need MPLAB v8.10 and the C18 Compiler v3.10.



I'm trying to program VEX robots this week, so I have to use my v7.20 and v2.40 of MPLAB and C18.

I also need to program our FRC robot this week, and we use Kevin's code, and we need MPLAB v8.10 to open the file, and we have been using v3.10 of C18.

Yes it is possible. This is exactly how I run my laptop. I use version 2.4 for working with my Vex, and version 3.1 for working with FRC. I learned this little trick from Kevin Watson. It is actually a lot easier than you think. It is as simple as installing version 2.4, then renaming the mcc18 folder to mcc18_2.4. I then install mcc18 version 3.1. Now on my laptop MPLab will run with the compiler version 3.1 for use with FRC. What I want to program my Vex, I renamed the mcc18 folder mcc18_3.1, and rename the folder mcc18_2.4 to mcc18. Then my laptop is ready to use MPLab with version 2.4 of the compiler for use with Vex.
That is all there is to it.

I have been using version 8.1 of MPLab for both Vex and FRC. It works quite nicely in this configuration.

[Eric24]

I've never heard of that method before, I might have to give that a shot. What I've been doing is running a virtual machine so I have one version of MPLab and the compiler directly on my laptop, and then the other version in a virtual operating system that can run simultaneously with the standard operating system. There are a few programs out there to run virtual machines including, VMWare, Virtual Box, and Microsoft Virtual Machine. That seems to work well for me, especially since for some reason on Vista, IFI loader cannot load anything into the robot so I run a virtual XP and everything loads perfectly.

[EHaskins]

I just have a pair of batch files:
renames mcc18 to mcc18_24 then mcc18_31 to mcc18
renames mcc18 to mcc18_31 then mcc18_24 to mcc18

[RyanN]

Sounds good, I haven't tried that exactly. I've tried installing MPLAB v7.2 and 8.1 in two different locations and also same with the C18 compiler, I could get nothing to work right even with the libraries located in MPLAB. I'll have to give this a shot tomorrow.

Also... I wonder if v3.2 of the C18 compiler will work... 3.1 disappeared off the website.

[EHaskins]

Originally Posted by RyanN

Sounds good, I haven't tried that exactly. I've tried installing MPLAB v7.2 and 8.1 in two different locations and also same with the C18 compiler, I could get nothing to work right even with the libraries located in MPLAB. I'll have to give this a shot tomorrow.

Also... I wonder if v3.2 of the C18 compiler will work... 3.1 disappeared off the website.

Why do you want MPLab 7.2 and 8.1? I've been using MPLab 8.x with c18 2.4 and 3.1 without any issues.

[RyanN]

Originally Posted by EHaskins

Why do you want MPLab 7.2 and 8.1? I've been using MPLab 8.x with c18 2.4 and 3.1 without any issues.

I was having issues opening the workspaces. It may be related to the C18 compiler though.

[EHaskins]

Originally Posted by RyanN

I was having issues opening the workspaces. It may be related to the C18 compiler though.

If I remember correctly, if you open the project(.mcp) it will open fine, but only if you delete the workspace(.mcw) first. The only thing you loose is the window layout you used in 7.x, but whatever you do in 8.x will be saved/loaded correctly in the future.

[steveg]

You should be OK if you have them installed in separate directories, and neither install location is added to your path. You'll have to manually specify the tool locations in MPLab, but that should be fine.