The objective of this document is to guide the developer through the setup and use of a suitable development environment for the ChipKit WiFire development board. Instructions are provided for both Windows and Linux based systems.
The hardware and software requirements listed below represent the most straightforward development environment. There are alternatives available but this document assumes the use of the components as listed. Further information can be found by clicking the appropriate links below.
All the software listed below is available free of charge for both Windows and Linux.
- Digilent ChipKIT WiFire development board (PIC32MZ2048EFG100 processor)
- MPLAB ICD 3 – Microchip In-Circuit Debugger (setup information available here) or PICkit™ 3 In-Circuit Debugger (setup information available here)
- Adaptor cable – to connect ICD to WiFire
- USB cable – for command console
- Git for Windows or Linux
- XC32 v1.42 - C cross compiler for PIC microcontrollers
- MPLABX IDE v3.35 - Microchip PIC integrated development environment
- Harmony v1_08_01 - integrated firmware development platform for PIC32 microcontrollers
Note. The WiFire application is designed to work specifically with Harmony v1.08.01. Successful operation is not guaranteed with other versions. Version 1.08.01 is available for download at the following link:
Harmony v1_08_01 - integrated firmware development platform for PIC32 microcontrollers.
After downloading, run the executable harmony_vX_XXX_windows_installer.exe. You may need administrator rights on your PC.
During installation:
- Use the dialogue to modify the installation directory to C:\microchip\harmony\current
- Accept all other default conditions
The development environment consists of the MPLAB X IDE and the MPLAB® XC32 C cross compiler.
Download the compiler from the following link:
XC32 v1.42 - C cross compiler for PIC microcontrollers
After downloading, run the installer xc32-vX.XX-windows-installer.exe.
During installation:
- Accept the default installation folder but make a note of the path by copying from the dialogue box.
- Select the option to 'Add xc32 to the PATH environment variable' and click ‘Next’.
When installation completes, click 'Next' to accept the free license version (unless you have a licence activation code for the Pro version).
Download the MPLAB X IDE from the following link:
MPLAB X IDE v3.35 - Microchip PIC integrated development environment
After downloading, run the installer MPLABX-vX.XX-windows-installer.exe.
During installation:
- Accept the default installation folder but make a note of the path by copying from the dialogue box.
- Select the IDE and the IPE installation checkboxes.
- Uncheck the options to download XC32 etc. and click 'Next' to finish the installation.
Root access is required to install the development tools in Linux.
After downloading the installer, use the command:
./harmony_vX_XX_linux_installer.run --mode text
When prompted, change the installation directory to: ~/microchip/harmony/current
Note: the --mode text option runs the installer in text mode as there are problems with the graphical interface on some Linux distributions.
This will need to be extracted from WiFireHarmonySDK_vX.X.X.zip after downloading, using the command:
unzip -o WiFireHarmonySDK_vX.X.X.zip -d ~/microchip/harmony
The paths in the project files need to be changed to Linux paths using a script provided, use the following commands to change the project files:
cd ~/microchip/harmony/current/third_party
./linux_setup.sh
Use the commands:
tar -xvf xc32-vX.XX-linux-installer.run.tar
sudo ./xc32-vX.XX-linux-installer.run --mode text
When prompted add XC32 to the path environment variable and select the free license.
After downloading, use the commands:
tar -xvf MPLABX-vX.XX-linux-installer.tar
sudo ./MPLABX-vX.XX-linux-installer.sh
Reboot after installing the tools to finalise the installation process.
For further information please visit:
Building the WiFire application