CCS News

CCS will be part of the Third Party Bazaar at the 2010 MASTERs worldwide conference. Visit our booth to evaluate our PRIME8 and Load-n-Go programmers as well as the EZ WEB Lynx Embedded Ethernet integration device. Get an inside view of the CCS IDE compiler and learn about the features that could benefit you by speaking directly to the lead engineer at the CCS booth.

Hot off the press... CCS will introduce "Master and Command C for PIC^®MCU", Fred Eady's new book which highlights the most effective and advance techniques for embedded design using the PIC^®MCU and CCS C Compiler. Get your copy of the new book at the CCS booth during the lunch and dinner hours of the conference. The book will be sold at a discounted price for MASTERs attendees.

MASTERs will be held at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona from August 25th-28th. Learn more about MASTERs, visit www.microchip.com We hope to see you there.

CCS has produced a new Mobile Programming Webinar to help customers become immediately productive with the battery operated Load-n-Go hand-held ICSP™ programmer. This exciting, new webinar will show you how to update your stand-alone products in the field without the need for a PC.

You will:

• Enable your field support technicians and engineers to load new software in deployed products and keep them running at peak performance


• Use the CCSLoad Programmer Control Software to store programs in the Load-n-Go hand-held programmer for multiple product configurations


• Quickly locate and resolve programming issues


• Learn how the battery operated Load-n-Go can program devices in-circuit, even when the target system is powered down

• Load-n-Go Hand-held Programmer - $199


• Tag Connect - $30

CCS has produced a new C Compiler Quick Start Webinar to help customers become immediately productive with CCS development tools. This exciting, new webinar will show you how easy it is to go from a blank sheet of paper to a blinking LED in less than five minutes!

You will:

- Learn how the CCS color coded text editor simplifies design entry
- See how CCS provided built-in functions speed up software development
- Quickly locate and correct design errors
- Program devices in-circuit and modify the blink rate on the fly with the CCS ICD-U64 In-Circuit Programmer/Debugger

View the webinar at ccsinfo.com/ccsquick

The PIC16F877A Development Kit used in the webinar features the powerful CCS PCW C compiler with support for Microchip's PIC® PIC10, PIC12 and PIC16 families, an ICD-U64 in-circuit programmer/debugger and a prototyping board with power supply, cables and hardware accessories to jump start your product development. CCS is offering a $25 discount through May 30th on the development kit to coincide with the webinar release. Enter discount code 877AWEB when ordering the kit.

CCS announced today a complete development kit for designing products based on Microchip's Enhanced Mid-Range core MCU family. The PIC16F1937 Development Kit combines the powerful CCS optimizing C compiler and ICD-U64 programmer/debugger with a new prototyping board expressly designed to support development of segmented LCD display applications running on Microchip's PIC(R) PIC12F1xxx/PIC16F1xxx devices.

Accelerate Development of Products Incorporating LCD Displays
Segmented LCD displays are used in a wide variety of cost-sensitive industrial and consumer products such as digital thermometers and blood sugar monitors, instrumentation and measuring devices. These products often utilize a low power microcontroller to drive the display. Software needs to be developed for that purpose, with C becoming the increasingly popular language of choice.

The CCS optimizing C compiler speeds development of that software. The compiler contains built-in functions that convert symbols directly into decoded LCD segments, greatly simplifying the task of displaying text on the screen.

"The compiler's built-in functions help software engineers quickly develop tight, maintainable source code for LCD display applications," explains Mark Siegesmund, President of CCS. "In addition, the compiler performs string compression on the 7-bit ASCII strings commonly used to drive LCD screens, which results in a small ROM footprint even when coding in C."

The CCS developed prototyping board serves as a known good hardware platform that the software engineer can use for code development while waiting for the final product's custom designed hardware. The board features a PIC16F1937 MCU with integrated LCD driver and an LCD screen, an RS-232 serial port, pushbuttons, potentiometers and LEDs, and an expansion I/O port for connection to sensors and other custom circuitry. It's accompanied by complete documentation including an exercise book with LCD display drive examples.

Complete Microchip Enhanced Mid-Range Architecture Core Support
The CCS Code optimizing C compiler supports up to 56K instructions and 4K RAM for these new 14-bit opcode devices. The Enhanced Mid-Range core's new 16-level hardware stack is fully supported by the compiler's call stack, reducing the number of inlined system functions that must be coded. Built-in system functions are provided for all of the enhanced peripherals including A/D converters and comparators, SPI and I2C serial buses, PWM, mTouchTM, non-volatile memory and LCD controllers.

Pricing and Availability
The PIC16F1937 Development Kit is immediately available in product configurations priced from $50 to $459. For more information, please visit www.ccsinfo.com/LCD

About CCS:
CCS is a worldwide leading supplier of embedded software development tools that enable companies to develop premium products based on Microchip PIC® MCU and dsPIC® DSC devices. Complete proven tool chains from CCS include a code optimizing C compiler, application specific hardware platforms and software development kits, accelerating the development of energy saving industrial automation, wireless and wired communication, automotive, medical device and consumer products. Established in 1992, CCS is a Microchip Premier 3rd Party Partner. For more information, please visit www.ccsinfo.com.

MPLAB® ICD 2 , dsPIC® DSC and PIC®MCU are a registered trades of Microchip Technology Inc in the U.S.A and other countries.

Version 4.100 features full support of the Enhanced Mid-range core architecture, a host of general productivity enhancements, a rich library of capacitive-touch functions and improved capability for compiling Microchip-style code.

The Enhanced Mid-range support, available in compilers that support 14-bit opcodes, has special built-in functions to reduce code size up to 18% by using optimized string handling and new syntax extensions. Look for the PIC16F1937 Development Kit in December 2009 to begin development with this unique architecture.

Other key changes programmers will find more productive include:
- Switch statements to allow string arguments
- New command-line option to add a source line to the start of a file
- De-referencing of function pointers no longer required
- New Pre-processor function to determine the use of a C identifier
- Edge detection on interrupts allowed
- New function to find port pins that have been changed
- #build/ #export improve interfacing to bootloaders and libraries (example set included)

Special Note to All Customers:
If your compiler had download rights for PCM support as of 01-JUL-09, you have been extended rights to download new versions until 30-NOV-09.

CCS will be releasing additional features throughout November. Many more improvements will follow in December. If you do not have maintenance after 30-NOV-09, contact sales or view your account history at http://www.ccsinfo.com/renewals

If you have been to www.ccsinfo.com lately you may have noticed that the site is under construction. We apologize for any inconvenience the web construction may cause and thank you for your patience. Please contact sales if you have questions!

Add more memory and power to CAN applications utilizing the power of the NEW CAN Bus 24 development kit- featuring the PIC24HJ256GP610! The PIC24HJ256GP610 integrates two ECAN bus controllers each handling up to 32 buffers capable of handling 8 bytes of data, of which, up to 8 buffers are programmable as transmit or receive buffers. The buffers can also be set to receive in FIFO mode. Automatic RTR response functions for all 8 transmit buffers can be set, as well as,16 programmable filters and 3 programmable masks.

The new CAN Bus 24 development kit has four nodes that are able to transmit and receive messages from the network. CAN Bus 24 offers a secure communication channel to exchange up to 8 bytes between several network nodes.

Node A: A PIC24HJ56GP610 which includes an integrated CAN peripheral.

Node B: A dsPIC30F4012 connected to an MCP2515 (external CAN peripheral SPI interface).

Node C & D: MCP25050s (stand-alone CAN expanders) pre-programmed by CCS to respond to specific CAN IDs.

Nodes A-C: Have potentiometer, three LEDs and three pushbuttons connections. Node D is connected to a 7-segmented LED.

The ECAN module is completely backwards compatible with the original CAN module- so give CAN Bus 24 a try today!

Development kit for compiler owners only $211.00

CCS has added new functions and features into the PCM compiler to support the Enhanced Midrange Core Families PIC16F1xxx and PIC12F1xxx - and it is available NOW.

Benefits to these devices include a 16-level hardware stack with overflow/underflow RESET capabilities, up to 56K instruction sets and 4K of RAM. CCS has Built-in functions for the additional and enhanced peripherals, a reduction of inline system functions using the 16-level call stack, compatibility switching for translating old or hard-coded addresses to new SFR registers and full support for the new instruction set.

These devices are less expensive and reduce code size . . . let the CCS PCM show you how. Look for the CCS PIC16F1937 Development Kit early October! The kit tutorial includes exercises for using the new built-in functions, access enhanced peripherals, and reducing code size.

For additional details on the Enhanced Midrange Core architecture or PCM support, visit:http://www.ccsinfo.com/Enh

FREE to Current Customers on active maintenance. Click here to download:

PCM or any IDE customers, click here to renew your support:

New Customers, click here to obtain pricing or shop for PCM, PCW, PCWH, PCWHD:

MASTERs 2009 conference was buzzing with information and demonstrations of the new generation of Enhanced Mid-Range Family of PIC16 devices that include mTouch™Sensing technology. CCS previewed our NEW Capacitive Touch Development Board and compiler libraries in a fun hands-on application.

The CCS Capacitive Touch board uses the new PIC16LF727 device for creating human touch applications and utilizing contact sensitive hardware. Instead of using mechanical switches or buttons that can break, the Capacitive Touch pads are activated by placing a human finger over the pad and the user's natural electrical properties generate the needed response or change.

Cut development time by utilizing specific Capacitive Touch functions built into the CCS C Compiler. The #USE TOUCH_PAD library reduces roughly 500 lines of assembly to 1 line of C code! A full version of the CCS C Compiler is available with the development kit.

The CCS Exercise tutorial contains 14 example programs that step the user through Capacitive Touch applications. Use the16 on-board programmable capacitive pads and LCD to quickly develop "touch" applications. In addition, the board is equipped with *Tag Connect footprint for ICSP™ programming and a ICD-U64 that can be used with all Flash-supported PIC^®MCU devices.

CCS currently sells PIC^® MCU development tools in over 107 countries worldwide. Although C is a universal language- reading our website may not have been as easy.

CCS has implemented the Google Translator tool to aid those who would prefer to read the technical information in their native language. Look for the translation tool at the top of the website next to log in and cart contents.