We have had good success with the Hi-Tech compiler for our development with PIC18 series . No problems at all with Windows (except the MPLAB USB driver doesn't linke being installed via a hub on our machines for some reason so we plug it directly into PC USB port). Kind Regards David Huisman (CEO) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ORBIT COMMUNICATIONS Pty Ltd - Wireless Solutions that Work (Telemetry, Control, Monitoring, Security, HVAC ...) A.C.N. 107 441 869 Website : http://www.orbitcoms.com PO Box 4474 Lakehaven NSW 2263, AUSTRALIA Phone: 61-2-4393-3627 Fax : 61-2-4393-3685 Mobile: 61-413-715-986 Jesse Lackey wrote: > I couldn't disagree more. > > I bought the linux version of the PCH (18F series) compiler a little > over 2 years ago. It was on release build #30 or so from their > official first release. > > It was unbelivably, ridiculously buggy. Compiler options didn't work. > Valid C not accepted. Example programs not documented and didn't > compile. All sorts of invalid code generated. I personally found at > least a dozen bugs. I spent probably 100-150 hours dealing with it on > a paying project, sending the schedule out the window. I spent 30 > hours alone figuring out why an mp3 decoder chip wasn't working - > well, constant arrays longer than about 250 bytes were not accessed > correctly. This array was the mp3 chip configuration code. It took > an eternity of frustration to figure this out, since it was part of a > much larger system. Another time I found that if an array in memory > crossed 256-byte boundary, accesses to it went somewhere else. This > was part of FAT12 reading code, and caused many hours of problems. > > The linux support was a joke. Linux builds were always weeks behind > the Windows builds. At one point I discovered their build process was > silently failing, and for two months the only difference in the binary > between one linux build and another was the version string. I found > this out after going back and forth with them as to why bugs that had > been fixed were still cropping up. > > Things got so bad I finally switched to Windows and am using the > Windows version. > > In two years there have been 200+ released builds, fixing bug after > bug and sometimes fixing the same bug again (regressive problems). It > was clear they don't take testing seriously and don't have good > internal build and QA methods. > > It is the worst compiler I have ever used in 15 years of development, > and going the CCS route was the single biggest mistake I've made in my > freelance career (4 years). > > The maintenance was essential in the first two years, else you'd hit > bugs you sometimes couldn't get around. > > I have a number of comments in my code across 15 projects where I > explain something that looks weird or stupidly done that it was > necessary to work around a CCS bug. > > At this point, 2 years after release, they are still fixing optimizer > bugs. However I haven't found any bugs in 2 months, but haven't been > using it intensively either. > > I would never, ever use anything by them that has not been shipping > for at least two years. > > Who cares how fast they ship what you order. The 100 to 150 hours > lost to their bugs, due to their incompetence or lack of giving a darn > about their customers' development time and schedules is far, far more > important. > > Jesse > > > > Per Linne wrote: > >> CCS is an outstanding company. >> >> Monday (10/10) afternoon I ordered their Mach X Programmer >> and today (12/10) it has been delivered at my door - by UPS no less. >> Bear in mind that there is a time difference of 6-9 hours between the US >> and Sweden, so in practice it was delivered in less than 2 days. >> Incredible. >> >> Of course I _am_ related to the company. >> (The contrary is usually expressed.) >> I am a very satisfied customer having used their compilers >> for 8 years. Professionally and maintenance subscribing yearly. >> >> Last year I bought their USB evaluation kit and they had >> included a _European_ power supply. Ready to >> run out of the box. Great! >> >> As a comparison: >> When I bought an Analog Devices DSP evaluation kit >> a couple of years ago, from the _Swedish_ agents there >> was an American PSU in it. So I had to buy a European PSU >> extra, which took a couple of days before I could use it. >> >> I'll get back with performance data of the Mach X in a few days, >> for Olin Lathrops comparison table, if no one does it before me. >> >> Per Linne >> Sweden >> >> PS Forgot the tag if this appears twice. Sorry if so. >> -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist