PBP v3.0 vs previous versions

[MikeBZH]

Hi,

I have just received the new PBP v3.0 which is going to replace my old v2.6 version.
Before installing it I've taken some time to look for the differences between both versions in the manuals.

PBP v3.0 is said to be a major version. OK but where are the differences ? I've seen some in relation with the conditionnal compiling or the configuration but what else ? The instruction set is the same ... So is there somewhere a list of the new functionalities ?

Moreover, I cannot find any instruction for applying the upgrade. Is it an automatic process ? Do I need to remove my older version and to replace it by the new one ?

One other point of detail. I2CREAD and I2CWRITE are still managing the I2C interface by software. Is there any driver, program, subroutine, available somewhere (in a library maybe ?) to manage this interface by hardware for processors which have this built-in hardware function (18F2685 in my case).

Thank you for your help

MikeBZH

[HenrikOlsson]

Hi Mike,
I know there a people here better suited to answer this but I'll give it a go (some of what is my opinion).

If you look at the verision history (http://support.melabs.com/content/29-PicBasic-Pro-Version-History) you'll see what has been added, changed and fixed since 2.60. As far as I know there are no new actual commands however the new #CONFIG and the conditional compilations features are a HUGH benefit. Perhaps not the #CONFIG directive, it only makes what was previously possible a whole lot easier but the conditional compilation features are absolutely GREAT - much sought after.

Applying the upgrade should just be a matter of installing alongside with your current installation. You can switch back and forth between versions if you need. As far as I know that's the way it's always been and there's no change. If you install to the default folder you'll get PBP3 directory in which every thing is located - it should leave your current 2.6 installation alone.

Don't know of any example routines for using the MSSP-module in I2C-mode but it shouldn't be too hard after initial setup. There are examples available to use said peripheral in SPI-mode and I would guess using it in I2C would be quite similar. I have never used I2C though so I may be way off target on that one....

Hopefully those with deeper knowlege and understanding (read Darrel ;-) ) will chime in to elaborate and correct any mistakes I may have made.

/Henrik.

[Charles Linquis]

RE I2C:

PBP doesn't have any provisions for using the I2C hardware. But of course you can manipulate the registers directly. Using the hardware in the MASTER mode doesn't give a huge benefit over bit-banging unless you are really moving a lot of data and are using interrupts.
If you need an I2C slave, then hardware is virtually the only way to go. I posted an interrupt-driven slave awhile back that works well.

With all the "noise" that has been made over I2C recently, I would be very surprised if the next (minor) update of PBP didn't have more support for I2C hardware.