Hi, I have the Nerdkit, and i am very interested to get going, but need some urgent help. I have installed WinAvr, but just want to start out by learning some basic C programming on my windows 7 box. Could someone please tell me how to compile and run a simple C program using WinAvr, Programmers's Notepad, and Makefile? Here is my program "hw.c", saved under C:WinAVR-20100110c_prog_source:

#include <stdio.h>
main ()
{
 printf("first c program");
 return (0);
}

Regards, Proton

The best way to go about this would probably be to go through your NK guide step by step. It will take you through the compile stage of some of the programs in the code folder (from the download section of the website). You can look over the sample code files from the download and see the basic structure for a C program on an avr microcontroller. After you go through the guide and it's samples, you'll have a much better understanding of the method for program creation, methods used, and how to compile and send the program to the chip.

Rick

WinAVR using the avr-gcc compiler will not make a .exe (pc executable) file.

You would need to install the regular gcc compiler or something like Visual Studio on windows and then make your executable. Like Rick said do the Nerdkit Guide and then look at the tutorials.

Ralph

Hi, Thanks to all who replied to my query. Humberto responded and aided me further. We successfully installed cygwin and gcc and compiled our first program. Thank you for your help and advice. Upon further research, I discovered a very helpful tutorial for those in my boat. http://www.eecg.utoronto.ca/~aamodt/ece242/cygwin.html to compile a C program, I then used the following:

gcc hw.c -o hw.exe

Proton, there are many resources online about learning C language. Here is a good one. Punching "C programming" in a search engine will give you quite a good list :)

Also, in cygwin, gcc compiles programs for linux, not windows (cygwin then translates them for windows). If you want you can install MinGW, which gives you gcc for Windows, in which you can actually write programs that have GUI (Graphic User Interface) such as windows, buttons, and so on.

Pelles C is a great Windows environment - you can create both console and GUI programs and there is a lot of support in their forums.

Link: PellesC

This seems like a decent place to post a question I've had about the different compilers.

I've installed WinAVR and used it successfully, but like Proton, I wanted to learn basic C programming. I wrote a similar program (following the Howstuffworks url in the NK guide). It's not working like it should so I've considered downloading a different compiler.

question is, will this cause conflicts with WinAVR?

I'm using Vista.

I plan to do more nerdkit projects and don't want to create future headaches :)

Mark

It probably won't cause problems, but as with the addition of any software to your computer, there is always a chance.

Rick

Thanks, Rick. I appreciate your help....

fingers crossed.

If your code isn't doing what you want, that isn't the fault of the compiler, that's the fault of how you've written the code.

Try writing a 'flow-chart' for what your code is doing, not what you think it's doing. then you'll understand why it's not working as you want, and I'm sure you'll then know how to fix it. Flow-charts are you greatest tool in solving logic problems.

enjoy.

BM

I would recommend some C programming tutorials on youtube, search for TheNewBoston. He has a ton of great easy-to-follow tutorials in C, Python and a ton of other stuff. Was very helpful for me.

thanks, all. I appreciate the suggestions.

If you are a bit familiar with other programming languages like Basic, Pascal etc. then I recommend you buy "C Programming Language" from Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie. What makes this book so special is that it is written by the people who created the language C. There are quite some bad resources out there so learning from the right guys is important. This is not a book, it's a bible that you are going to use soon or later if you are about to stick with C.