Digi JACKRABBIT BL1800 - Manual (Page 41)

User’s Manual 37
4. S
OFTWARE
R
EFERENCE
To develop and debug programs for the Jackrabbit (and for all
other Rabbit hardware), you must install and use Dynamic C. It
runs on an IBM-compatible PC and is designed for use with
Rabbit-based single-board computers and other devices based
on the Rabbit microprocessor. This chapter provides a tour of
the major features of Dynamic C with respect to the Jackrabbit.
4.1 An Overview of Dynamic C
Dynamic C has been in use worldwide since 1989. It is specially designed for program-
ming embedded systems, and features quick compile and interactive debugging. A com-
plete reference guide to Dynamic C is contained in the Dynamic C User’s Manual.
You have a choice of doing your software development in the flash memory or in the data
SRAM included on the Jackrabbit. The flash memory and SRAM options are selected
with the
Options > Project Options > Compiler menu.
The advantage of working in RAM is to save wear on the flash memory, which is limited
to about 100,000 write cycles. The disadvantage is that the code and data might not both
fit in RAM.
NOTE: An application can be developed in RAM, but cannot run standalone from RAM
after the programming cable is disconnected. All standalone applications can only run
from flash memory.
NOTE: Do not depend on the flash memory sector size or type. Due to the volatility of
the flash memory market, the Jackrabbit and Dynamic C were designed to accommo-
date flash devices with various sector sizes.
Developing software with Dynamic C is simple. Users can write, compile, and test C and
assembly code without leaving the Dynamic C development environment. Debugging
occurs while the application runs on the target. Alternatively, users can compile a program
to an image file for later loading. Dynamic C runs on PCs under Windows NT and later—
note that Dynamic C is still being evaluated for compatibility with Windows Vista at the
time of writing, and should not be expected to run correctly under Windows Vista at this
time. Programs can be downloaded at baud rates of up to 460,800 bps after the program
compiles.