Support for 18FXXX parts

[jimhumphries]

Will Flowcode be upgraded to cover the newer 18F series of PIC micros?

[Ian]

We will be updating Flowcode to handle 18F series devices pretty soon.
It's on the books as soon as we get the current batch of projects done (hopefully before christmas).

We are planning to update a number of parts of Flowcode - some to help support 18F series devices, others because we like to improve Flowcode when we can.

I will post more details on what is being updated or added later when we start work on the update.

[jimhumphries]

Ian:

That's great news! I would like to be among the first to upgrade my Pro v2.0.

Jim

[jimhumphries]

Ian:

Should we still be hopeful of 18F series support around Christmas time?

Jim

[Ian]

We are looking to start work on updating Flowcode shortly after Christmas, but can't say how long it will be as we have a lot to do.

[jimhumphries]

Ian:

That's pretty exciting. Please let us know on the Forum if you'll be looking for beta Users.

I am assuming v 2.x upward compatibility with the new version so that Flowcode compiled for, say, a 16F876 would compile without significant modifications to run on similar 18F parts. Is that a reasonable assumption?

Also, although Christmas has passed (and I hope yours was as enjoyable as mine was), here are some wish-list items for your consideration:

1) Two-byte math option for at least the +, -, * and / operators.
2) Ability to run the A/D flat-out.
3) 4 line by 20 character LCD support and a fix for the LCD pin-out problem.
4) Expanded error messaging - a little more descriptive detail about what went wrong when (on the rare occasion) it does go wrong
5) Ability to attach Flowcode programs to Forum messages and/or the ability to share snippets of code via the Forum.

Regards and Happy New Year,

Jim

[Steve]

Just to let you know, FlowCode development has begun and 18F series compatability is definitely on the way.

I'm about to put up a new post listing the other new features, so please refer to that if you want to know more...

[jimhumphries]

Steve:

Your interum solution (pending release of v3) for changing the A/D delay value by modifying the part .FCD file is so simple and elegant that I have to ask - is it practical for me to take a shot at writing (or editing an existing) .FCD file to support a specific 18F part?

What I'm thinking is that Flowcode written for a 16F part may be (should be), for the most part, compatible with a comparable 18F part - at least what I read in the Microchip data sheets seems to support this idea - so there may be a managable number of changes that would have to be made to an existing .FCD file to get it to work for an 18F part. Would this be a waste of time or is it worth considering if all I need is to increase program memory for my application?

Maybe I should get a life and let you get on with v3.

Jim

[Steve]

Hi Jim,

Yes - in theory it should be easy, but the problem lies in the fact that the current C compiler does not support the 18F devices. As part of FlowCode v3 development, we are moving over to a new compiler that does support 18F's - once this is done, creating FCD files for new chips should be easy.

[jimhumphries]

Thanks Steve. I'll leave you alone and let you get on with v3.

Jim

[jimhumphries]

Steve:

I meant to leave you alone but I forgot to ask about when you think the new v3 will be ready to release?

Jim

[Steve]

Hi Jim,

It's still too early to say, but I'm hopeful that it will be 3-4 months.