2 Question about Robotics and C++

[waheedrafiq]

hi guy's first of all i like to thanks all of you who help me in my c++ exam I got a Disction ,


I am currently working on my hobby project which is mainly building robots

my first question is

1) can i program PIC16 please visted www.microchip.com
using C or C++( state which one please) if so what are the libraries that i need to use.


2) I have a handheld Pocket PC 2002 can i use C/ C++ on this device ie can i program or write application for this device if so what do i need

[dude_1967]

WDQ,

You can definitely program PIC microcontrollers with C/C++. Unfortunately, my experience is mainly with other µC families.

You might want to find a suitable microcontroller and then look for a compiler. One of the best ways to get started with real-time control software is to invest in a starter kit for a µC. The starter kit will come with a board, download software and demo-versions of various compilers all wrapped up in an easy to use form.

Try to invest in a starter kit if your budget will allow this. You will not need any libraries for getting started in real-time control software. The hardest thing is jmp _main and then toggling a port. With that in the bag you're up and running.

It might be an interesting experience to really write hardware-near software. For me it is a rich career.

We really liked these books:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0750675349/qid=1050177258/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_3/103-3651059-1569421?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1565923545/ref=pd_sim_books_3/103-3651059-1569421?v=glance&s=books

Good luck.

Chris.

[waheedrafiq]

thank you for your reply

[dude_1967]

WDQ,

You might be wondering: Hey, what is a starter kit and how expensive is one?

I would like to provide you with some additional information.

Here is a link to a starter kit for a new generation of Zilog Z8 Flash µC. I will probably get one of these for benchmarking this new architecture. The price is moderate (about $50) and it seems to be very well assembled with a full version compiler.

http://www.microcontroller.com/DirectoryItemView.asp?did=32

In addition, I wanted to suggest that you might look into the µC architecture known as 8051, still one of the most popular 8-bit architectures worldwide. There is a nice free C-compiler called sdcc.

http://sdcc.sourceforge.net/

Happy development.
Sincerely, Chris.

:)

[Caronte]

Of course you can use C (I suppose C++ also, but I really don´t know), to program your PICS.

However, you will need a proper cross-compiler to do it. I used the one from CCS and gave me good results... If you don´t want to expend some money on that, perhaps you can check if there is a version of gcc cross compiler for PICs.

About the Pocket PC... Which OS are you using? If you are using Windows CE, there is a version of the Visual Studio for embedded systems with which you can use embedded Visual C++ and embedded Visual Basic.