Alternate IDEs? or how to get more from the standard IDE ?

Development Libraries
21

Hi!

I agree with previous posts. The Arduino IDE is great, simple and effective.

Because I'm dealing with many I2C sensors, I have as many libraries as sensors.

I'd like to have some niceties as symbols list and parameters suggestion to speed up my coding because I can't remember all the symbols and parameters.

Now, there's room for many options:

  • using an application only for editing and the Arduino IDE for compiling
  • using a fully integrated IDE for editing, building and uploading.

I didn't manage to get the Arduino > Preferences > Use external editor work correctly.

Any help is welcomed!

22

"is there any way to set the monitor to start automatically after uploading"

Not that I know of. I just click the Serial Monitor & start it manually.

23

CrossRoads:
I just click the Serial Monitor & start it manually.

oh well so be it.

hmmm, your Bobuino Mega looks interesting. Would you be prepared to ship to Australia?

24

Sure, I think I shipped 3 of them internationally so far. I have 5 on hand right now, need to fix a solder bridge on the FT2323RL chip and they'd be ready to go.
(Note to self: Order a hot air nozzle, pull the part & resolder it!)

Anyway, its not a Mega, its a 1284. The 1280 & 2560 Mega are SMT only, DIP was requested to make it possible to pull the chip if damaged.

25

ninja2:
another question if I may ... is there any way to set the monitor to start automatically after uploading?

If I understand you right, then there is a way. Click the "upload" button. Then IDE compiles the program and uploads it and starts serial monitor. But it does not save your program. However you should check this, because I have not uploaded any sketches lately.

Documentation? Someone told me about this on the old forum.

26

CrossRoads:
Use CTRL-T to standardize the code presentation, will also alert you to mismatched ( )s. { }s, and [ ]s.

If you're really stuck, there are some very good guys down under as well.

The IDE gets confused if there are ( )s. { }s, and [ ]s in the comments. Does CTRL-T work there too.

27

Maybe CTRL-T only catches some things, while the IDE and/or compiler get the rest.
For instance, if the cursor is next to a a (, ), {, }, [, or ], it highlights the mating bracket so you can easily see of you have pairs.
Or you mave to click next to a { and then use the scrollbar to find the mate as the code between them tends to be longer.

The IDE highlights them in comments also, which is not always a useful feature.

28

The standard IDE leaves a lot to be desired. But, from a development point of view, they have made an enormously complex problem into a simple download-and-write-code answer. They have done some amazing things in getting that featureless IDE to work for virtually 100% of the users.

On the other hand: if I can't get Eclipse to work for my hobby projects, I will toss Arduino and rip it up AVR style for anything more than a one page project. I am a software engineer as a daily job. Coming home and writing code is what I do for fun. Being able to use the Arduino for super quick-and-dirty proof of concept circuits, and using various components is awesome.

Although, after I have discovered how to use the Wire library for external banks of EEPROM, or how beautifully simple it is to control a servo, or what have you. I am ready to start dropping some mad codeto to make my robot sing and dance. That's when I desire a real IDE.

Am I capable of using TextMate and commandline to develop? Sure, heck - sometimes I do it all day. All the projects that we do at work are all Eclipse external Makefile jobs, so I am 100% confident in doing it in a minimalist way. But Eclipse has a nice spot in my heart. I use it for Python, PHP, C/C++, ASM, Java - I would use it for email if it would let me (God knows I hate Entourage!). After using Eclipse all day, coming home using the home-brewed-looking IDE is a drag.

Bottom line, I would not own multiple Arduinos, if they didn't have such a turn-key IDE. But after you get your LED blinking, or your motor spinning, most of us are ready for a complex IDE with project exploration, code linking, folding and all the other time saving features that are in the main line IDEs.

I am super pumped to get the Eclipse Plug-in that Jantje has working. (I have a few OS X glitches to work out) It looks like most people on Windows that have tried it, have it working nicely. So for anyone looking for an alternative, give it a go. It looks promising.

Now that I have read this thread I am going to give the Xcode plug-in a whirl too.

Thanks,
Nick