AVR Freaks

If this is about ASF I will move it to the ASF forum - please clarify.

 

Moderator

For chips, Yes - but nothing to do with boards.

 

As noted, if you are using ASF - then that will do it for you.

 

If you use some other framework, it will probably do it for you -RTFM for details

It's on your hard drive - did you look at the Help in AS7 at all?

 

While this might be for a slightly different version the AVR-LibC user manual is always online at:

 

http://www.nongnu.org/avr-libc/u...

 

Among many other things that documents:

 

http://www.nongnu.org/avr-libc/u...

 

The manual also has this to show which devices are supported:

 

http://www.nongnu.org/avr-libc/u...

 

But it's still not clear to me what it is you are trying to achieve. Are you trying to use ASF? Are you trying to use Start? Which model of AVR are you actually talking about?

 

(if you are using ASF or Start they each will probably have just a single include like <asf.h> or <atmel_start.h> or something and those in turn will be (among other things) including <avr/io.h>)

The OP seems to suggest that there are choices where there are (effectively) none. The use, again and again, of the term "code support" is also a bit puzzling. And the OP seems to mis-understand the need for some of the #includes. Here is how >>I<< understand things.

 

A. #include <avr/io.h> gives you register and memory definitions, plus a few "secondary" things like device signature. This is really not just one file but a whole chain of files that are automatically accessed according to the MCU type that specify when creating a new project (there are some other ways to do this, also). That is ALL that <avr/io.h> does. It is supplied by Atmel/Microchip. The whole set of files is automatically installed as part of the Atmel Studio installation. Personally, I do not consider this optional. Use it or inflict huge pain upon yourself. 

 

B. There is the set of libraries that are part of avr-libc which is NOT a "framework". These are (mostly) a third party effort. Many of the libraries implement standard c-language functions like strlen() or strcat(), to name just two of many. These are also part of the standard Atmel Studio installation. you add various capabilities through specific includes, such as #include <stdlib.h> or #include <string.h>. You can find out about avr_libc at https://www.nongnu.org/avr-libc/... (as given, above). Use is totally optional though I would have a really hard time working without <avr/interrupt.h> and a few others. 

 

C. ASF IS a framework. It is aimed, as I understand it, mostly at the SAM series chips though it has a little support for XMega devices and even less for standard Mega chips and maybe none for standard Tiny. This is totally, as far as I understand, a product of Atmel/Microchip.

 

D. Start, which I know VERY little about, appears to be another framework (but I could be very wrong). It seems to have more support for the 8/16 bit devices. There have been a few threads about use of this framework. It, again, appears totally to be a product of Atmel/Microchip. I get the feeling that some of the  structure of Start is borrowed, a bit, from Arduino, and has explicit support for the various "Xplained" boards though it appears to work on (nearly) any board.

 

But none of this deals with "code support". What is it that you are really asking, here? It all seems to be a big puzzle?

 

Jim

 

 

 

Then why are you even considering ASF / Start ? The fact is that probably the vast majority of AVR programs written in avr-gcc rely on very little more than <avr/io.h>. Sure there are other associated headers that come with the libc:

 

http://nongnu.org/avr-libc/user-...

 

So if you planned to use interrupts you'd likely also use <avr/interrupt.h> and if (for example) you planned to use the EEPROM you would use <avr/eeprom.h> and so on. But what's offered there is a fairly extensive set of "all you need" to write the vast majority of AVr programs.

 

Sure if you hit some peripheral that looked so complex you couldn't work out how to operate it by just programming the registers directly you *might* look to use a library like ASF or Start (or perhaps Fleury or Stang code?) but most tiny/mega peripherals are so simple you can just hit them directly with no "help" from 3rd parties.

If it is "board support" you want, the champion model MUST be Arduino. There MAY be  something along these lines in ASF and Start. Start, particularly, "knows" about  Xplained boards. 

 

Many of us, here, will argue that "software support" is between you and the spec sheet. There ARE some handy wizards out there, particularly for fuses and timers. There are quality libraries for things like SPI, TWI/I2C, serial  comms, LCD interfaces, and such. But, unless you go to Arduino, there is no one unified package that works with Tiny, or Mega, or Xmega chips. ASF does that, or some of that, but its reach down into the 8/16 bit range is limited, at best.

 

Jim

Atmel Studio "knows" about the XPlained boards, and will create specific examples for each one.

 

Part of that is a header (or headers) that define the board-specific features.