If you’ve followed the TuneConsole project, then you know that I’m not at all enamored of Microchip’s development tools for PIC18. So when I saw that Microchip released a new line of compilers, I was kinda excited. I mean, hey, maybe they’re finally doing things right!
No such luck…
Don’t bother hurrying to try them. By all appearances, they took HI-TECH C and did a search/replace to change the name to XC8. It’s good that they chose the better of the two compilers for their new standard, but I would have preferred a proper gcc port.
Even the licensing remains the same; they want $2,000 for a compiler that can handle PIC18, PIC24, PIC24H, PIC32, and dsPIC. With gcc, llvm, and others out there, there’s no excuse for charging outrageous prices for ancient compilers. I can only guess their business development people have a screw loose; I consider it a deterrent to adoption of the PIC platform, and yet more opportunity for Atmel.
In the mean time, my desire to have a good long look at AVR is growing stronger every day…
S.
