How to NOT use WindRiver

[gvarndell]

Originally Posted by masoug

Hi,
Frankly, I am rather tired of all the things WindRiver complains about, from stinkin' license problems to debugging difficulties.
So is there a way to just use the WindRiver compiler as standalone and be able to successfully download/edit code w/o the WindRiver IDE?
I've heard its been done...

Honestly, if you can't get it right within the IDE, you stand little chance of getting it right outside.

[taichichuan]

FWIW, I don't use Workbench for much of my library development. I haven't been able to figure out how to generate a static library successfully in the tool. I'm sure it can be done, but I just haven't found the right project and sequence of steps.

So, it turns out that you can do all of the development "old school" if you're so inclined. The way it's done is to open a host shell from the Workbench menu bar. This opens at DOS box that has sourced the environment variables needed to run the tool from the command line. From there, Makefiles can be written to compile and build any code you want.

Now, this does not side step any licensing issues you may be having because Wind's version of the GNU compiler has a front end that checks the license before the GNU compiler actually starts to run. However, once you have the compiled code you can use it as a link target for other projects in or out of Workbench.

As for getting code onto the cRIO, filezilla works nicely. The cRIO is running an FTP server on port 21. If you open a connection to the cRIO and log in, you'll see the Flash file system on the cRIO. In order to automatically start your code, you need to copy it to the cRIO as FRC_UserProgram.out (or something obvious like that -- I dont' have the cRIO in front of me and it's late, so my memory is failing me). The FTP is essentially what the "Deploy Code" button is doing in Workbench.

Now, I share these techniques with you in the hope that it will "de-mystify" how the FIRST control system works. But, as GVarndell pointed out, if you're having trouble with Workbench, then working outside of Workbench will likely not make anything any easier for you. FWIW, I've also been successful in generating code in Linux for the cRIO. But, that's a whole other kettle of fish and not for the faint of heart.

HTH,

Mike

[rrossbach]

FWIW, the GNU toolchain targeted to the cRIO/VxWorks is available (along with a tutorial) here.

Haven't tried it myself so there may be some tweaks required to the makefile, etc - but seems like it should be pretty straightforward.

- Ron
Team #2607 controls mentor

[Alan Anderson]

The easiest way to not use WindRiver is to use LabVIEW.

[byteit101]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

The easiest way to not use WindRiver is to use LabVIEW.

Or NetBeans.

This reminds me of how not to be seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zekiZYSVdeQ

[masoug]

This reminds me of how not to be seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zekiZYSVdeQ

How is this related to FIRST?

-Masoug

[byteit101]

Originally Posted by masoug

How is this related to FIRST?

-Masoug

it isn't. Alans post reminded me of this funny sketch: The easiest way to not be seen is to ...