Here the other day I got a email from microchip about this:
MPLAB® XC8 PRO Compiler Reduces Code Size for
AVR® Devices
What is this actually? (I only care about the compiler it self not IDE etc.)
Is it based on GCC or ?
Does anyone use it ?
XC8 PRO Compiler
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sparrow2 wrote:
Yes with, IIRC, proprietary libraries.
Is it based on GCC ...
sparrow2 wrote:
MPLAB XC8 v2 for PIC is from LLVM.
... or ?
sparrow2 wrote:
maybe Pro :
Does anyone use it ?
noinit section getting cleared by _do _clear_bss | AVR Freaks
edit :
https://www.avrfreaks.net/forum/come-join-us-mplab-now-supports-avrs?page=6#comment-2905431
edit2 :
open PDF
This compiler is an implementation of GCC version 5.4.0, binutils version 2.26, and uses avr-libc version 2.0.0.
Last Edited: Fri. Jul 24, 2020 - 11:48 AM
If it's same as it was like 10years ago with with xc8 compiler, the free version just added bloat to the binary so it got way bigger than it actually was and did not try to optimise anything. Then they sold the pro version which did not include bloat and it magically reduced the size by 50%, wonder why.
You probably can still find discussion about that somewhere, if they still do that I would not pay 1 cent for the pro version.
Dont worry, a lot has happened in 10 years 
They still do it, so not much “progress” there.
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JoniS wrote:
MPLAB XC8 for AVR has some optimization at zero price.
... and did not try to optimise anything.
JoniS wrote:
There's knowledge on MPLAB XC8 for PIC; 128KB USB PIC are at reasonable price that can be reduced by a factor of 2 for 32KB USB PIC (though smaller package)
You probably can still find discussion about that somewhere, ...
JoniS wrote:
Likewise for proof-of-concept (bench test) and probably first prototype though would consider MPLAB XC8 Pro in a dongle form for further (beta test, initial production and so forth); there's a qualified functional safety MPLAB XC8.
... I would not pay 1 cent for the pro version.
https://www.avrfreaks.net/forum/come-join-us-mplab-now-supports-avrs?page=5#comment-2624586
XC3216/xc8-avr-info.txt at master · cv007/XC3216 · GitHub
Myths and legends of PIC microcontrollers | jaromir.sukuba | Hackaday.io
PIC18F97J94 - Microcontrollers and Processors
https://www.avrfreaks.net/forum/come-join-us-mplab-now-supports-avrs?page=6#comment-2834211
edit :
MPLAB® XC8 C Compiler Version 2.20 Release Notes for PIC® MCU
[go to 3.3. Version 2.05 for zero price optimization]
Last Edited: Tue. Jul 28, 2020 - 12:49 AM
Ok I keep my WinAVR-20100110 in many cases that seem to be the best GCC for AVR (the only real problem I see is chips with more than 128k flash)
Add
And the 16 reg versions, that I never have used.
Last Edited: Mon. Jul 27, 2020 - 06:58 PM
All I know is MPLAB is NetBeans, and AS7 is Microsoft Visual Studio. They both (IDE) have a lot of toolchains bolted on and take to much time to start (my computer boots faster than those things load). I would like them to stop messing with IDEs and just do the toolchain and debuggers as stand-alone programs that can be compiled to run on anything (Win, Mac, Lin, Containers, for x86 [32 and 64bit] and Arm [32 and 64] ). If I want to use NetBeans because I have learned how to set it up for other projects, I can also do so for Microchips toolchain. If I want to use VScode... well anyway, it all looks like a lot of wheel-spinning to me.
Last Edited: Tue. Jul 28, 2020 - 08:11 AM
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ron_sutherland wrote:
MDB is available.
... and debuggers as stand-alone programs that can be compiled to run on anything (Win, Mac, Lin, Containers, for x86 [32 and 64bit] and Arm [32 and 64] ).
Microchip Command-line Debugger
MDB Reference - Developer Help
MDB: The Microchip Debugger - Developer Help
MPLAB X SDK For MPLAB X IDE | opensource4pic
edit :
P.S.
Dockerfile for MPLAB X IDE/IPE and toolchains | Microchip
Last Edited: Tue. Jul 28, 2020 - 12:37 AM
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MDB is available.
Release Notes for MDB Command Line Interface
MPLAB® X IDE v5.40
May 14, 2020
...
Currently, MDB supports only PIC devices.
...
via http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/mplabx-ide-release-notes-r1-v5.40.zip
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Somewhat of a discount though not as deep as earlier offers.
Part Number: SW006021-DGL - MPLAB XC8 Compiler PRO Dongle License (microchipDIRECT)
...
Save $200
Coupon Code
TP2027
Expires : 31-Oct-2020
...
Standard Pricing:
Order Quantity USD per Unit
1+ $1,695.00
...
via Dev Tool Deals | Microchip Technology
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MPLAB XC8 v2 for AVR for aprroximately 2m30s :
Coffee Break | S2E5 | All Compilers Are Not Created Equal - YouTube (Microchip Technology)
So if that is the best argument they have to switch, there is absolutely NO reason to switch.
MPLAB XC8 v2 for AVR for aprroximately 2m30s :
Coffee Break | S2E5 | All Compilers Are Not Created Equal - YouTube (Microchip Technology)
20:40 we have nearly a million tests that we run on every release of every compiler
A million, well, that's pretty cool, since within one hour of first using a Microchip PIC XC8 compiler I encountered an "strangeness" that I finally wrote up a support ticket for. I got a notice a 2-3 weeks later that I had identified an issue they would work on correcting.
I didn't realize I should have also bought lottery tickets!
Did they recently increase the cost of the compiler? I thought so (or maybe it was on a temporary sale) , but can't find the price.
Last Edited: Mon. Oct 26, 2020 - 09:35 AM
Or it's more like don't let the programmer make the test of his own code, the stupid costumer probably don't use the same coding style.
Or it's more like don't let the programmer make the test of his own code, the stupid costumer probably don't use the same coding style.
Yeah, there was something off with a memory allocation or something (even/odd boundary issue?)... if you compiled the error-free code, it gave some sort of memory conflict warning/error (it was only maybe 50 lines of dirt-simple C code)....but if you deleted certain lines (I don't recall then being anything notable), the problem went away. Microchip concurred it made no sense & after their update (much later) I retried & the issue was gone using the original file.
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https://www.microchipdirect.com/product/search/all/SW006021-2
Part Number: SW006021-2 - MPLAB XC8 PRO Compiler (Workstation License)
15% Off
Coupon Code
EOY2020DT
Expires : 31-Dec-2020
...
In Stock: 20
...
was 1095USD, now 931USD for this month
via Dev Tool Discounts | Microchip Technology
HPA is 200USD/year
Reduces Code Size
oh, yes-yes...
this my cut from text's and project's, some tests, avr-gcc vs xc8-avr