JAL v2 released

[aap]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EASY TO USE JAL EMBEDDED SOFWARE BECOMES EVEN MORE POWERFUL

The beta team is please to announce the release of JAL version 2.0 (JALv2)

JALv2 is a high-level language for Microchip TM PIC microcontrollers

JAL – J*ust A*nother L*anguage was originally written by Wouter van Ooijen as a HLL better suited to PIC architecture yet understandable by new users. Sharing similarities with PASCAL it has evolved into a solid language with an enthusiastic user base.

JAL v2 is complete rewrite by Kyle York, author of PICbsc (**broken link removed**, building upon this proven core producing highly optimized code while embracing JAL’s simplicity, syntax and style.

JAL v2 now introduces many new powerful features enhancing the already strong suite, as highlighted below:

Features:

• 8, 16 and 32 bit words fully supported
• Signed and unsigned word variables
• user definable types
• Automatic BANK handling
• Automatic PAGE handling
• multiple interrupt routines allowed
• Built in support for multiple tables, each up to 255 values long
• Real Bit support OR, XOR, AND, NOT, Set, Test
• arithmetic shift for signed types
• Array functions – count etc
• highly accurate delay function
• Seamless Inline assembler support
• Supports popular bootloaders
• Enhanced New-User-Friendly Documentation

Supported Devices:
Users have the ability to add any device utilizing the 16F architecture
Initial release 2.0.0 supports 12F-series and 16F-series

Key Benefits:
Convenience: the user can use variables and registers without worrying about the intricacies of PIC architecture banks
Speed: an easy to understand language one can quickly develop functional programs
Power: powerful features simplify programming
Customization: outputs assembler and hex for unique customization situations
Optimal Code, the compiler optimizes the code to be very tight, but keeping it still good readable

System Requirements:
Win98, Win2000, WinXP, Linux, freeBSD, MAC
WINDOWS executable and installer supplied – see below
LINUX & FreeBSD - JALv2 is tested on LINUX and FreeBSD, recommend the user compile the ANSI C source under their flavour of LINUX or FreeBSD.
MAC - JALv2 is written in ANSI C, - compatible source is provided.

Pricing & Availability
FREE - Version 2.0.0 is available immediately

JALv2 windows installer- basic package includes JALedit, manual, libraries:
http://www.wattystuff.net/jal2pic/downloads/jal_v2_package_very_small.exe (1.8 MB)

JALv2 windows installer- full package includes JALedit, manual, libraries, JALss (simulator), INC2JAL (Microchip TM register translation):

http://www.wattystuff.net/jal2pic/downloads/jal_v2_package.exe (5.2 MB)

JALv2 latest release:
www.casadeyork.com/jalv2.zip

The Source (freeBSD license) is available at:
www.casadeyork.com/jalv2src.zip

Libraries and Documentation
Basic Examples are included in the Windows distribution and documented
in the new enhanced MANUAL:
http://www.wattystuff.net/jal2pic/downloads/pjal_doc_html.zip
http://www.wattystuff.net/jal2pic/downloads/pjal_doc_pdf_a4.zip
http://www.wattystuff.net/jal2pic/downloads/pjal_doc_pdf_letter.zip
http://www.wattystuff.net/jal2pic/downloads/pjal_doc_sources.zip

Stef Mientki’s extensive JAL libraries have been updated for JALv2, you always can find the latest version under the tab JAL-libraries on
http://pic.flappie.nl

Demo Programs, including all libraries(already included in the windows installer)
http://www.wattystuff.net/jal2pic/downloads/jal_v2_demos.zip (120 kB)

JAL V2 Migration Document - updating from JAL 0.4xx and additional notes under the tab JAL-v2 on
http://pic.flappie.nl

Supporting Software
JALedit A simple but yet complete Editor / IDE, has been updated by original author Sunish Issac to seamlessly work with JALv2 accommodating new JAL features and adding user enhancements. JALeditv2 has been endorsed by the Beta team. JALeditv2 is available separately:
**broken link removed**

Textpad- owners of Textpad may wish to use this configuration
**broken link removed**

ViM editor for linux has been tested with JALv2 by the developers:
http://www.vim.org/

INC2JAL TRANSLATION -- a Windows-only tool to translate MPASM registers to JALv2 is provided:
http://www.wattystuff.net/jal2pic/downloads/inc2jal.zip (330 kB)

For further information:
Contact and Support via the Yahoo JAL users group: **broken link removed**
Microchip Technology http://www.microchip.com is the leading 8-bit microcontroller vendor in units sold and second in overall revenue. http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/060516/general01.html

Approved by the Beta Team (alphabetically):
Bert van Dam, Sunish Issac, Dave Lagzdin, Javier Martinez
Stef Mientki, Wouter van Ooijen, Michael Reynolds, André Steenveld
Joep Suijs, Vasile Surducan, Michael Watterson, Kyle York

 

[Papabravo]

I object to the blatant commercial nature of this post. A short message with a link for those interested would have sufficed.

 

[aap]

Sorry for this inconvenience,
I would be pleased if the moderator will remove the whole thread, interested people will find the news in some other newsgroup.

 

[mramos1]

I object to the blatant commercial nature of this post. A short message with a link for those interested would have sufficed.

There is no place free of commercials now I take it.

But I did pull jal0456 (or something like that) about 3 days ago and said, they will have something one day. So I pulled v2.0 and one day I will look at it..

I was looking for something that did 12F509 and 16f628... So I will look at it.

But a simple, JAL is at a new level, version 2.0 with lots of features. It is a high level compiler for the PIC micro. Check it out at www.blahblahblah would have been plenty for those that want to look.

So I agree with Papabravo. Heck, might as well have dropped the source code to JAL and the manual in there (and attach the compiler to build it too)..

 

[upand_at_them]

I object to the blatant commercial nature of this post. A short message with a link for those interested would have sufficed.

It's not commercial at all. The compiler is free and it's open source. And it does pertain to microcontrollers.

So....What's the objection?

Mike

 

[BeeBop]

Yes, I too, don't understand the objections. This is a FREE tool set. Is it so hard to scroll past, or overlook what you don't want?
If it was a money making endeavor, then I too would object, however, as it stands this is just information, collected in one place.
Regards,
Robert

 

[justDIY]

i'll have to try this out ... my old version of proton is lacking support for many of the newer 12f and 16f devices... and i'm too cheap to be upgrading.

 

[Papabravo]

Price is not the issue, it was the form and content of the post. It is presumptuous to use this forum as a free advertising resource. The purpose of this forum is education and technical discussion, not a place to post advertisements, or things that look like advertisements, no matter how free or how worthy. I come here, and I participate precisely because we have a low tolerance for advertising and self promotion. I agree with the other posters that a link with the suggestion to check it out would be less objectionable. Even a statement like, "I'm the author of this great package, this is why it is great, I use it and you should check it out, follow this link would be OK". The original post was in the form of a full page add. The moderator(s) can leave it or remove it, as is their perrogative, but bad things tend to happen when people remain silent.

If you're looking for sympathy, comfort, and freedom from criticism of your ideas and your actions -- get a dog. If you don't like my ideas or my positions then have at 'em.

 

[BeeBop]

Boy, I didn't think anyone would take such offense, but

If you're looking for sympathy, comfort, and freedom from criticism of your ideas and your actions -- get a dog. If you don't like my ideas or my positions then have at 'em.

If you're looking for sympathy, comfort, and freedom from criticism of your ideas and your actions -- get a dog. If you don't like my ideas or my positions then have at 'em.
Same back

Perspective.

I don't disagree, a shorter post would have done it!

I was, however, annoyed at the OP's defensiveness; all or nothing responses seem to me, illogical, and dysfunctional.

I come here, and I participate precisely because we have a low tolerance for advertising and self promotion.

I have found your participation very valuable, and would much rather see your posts here than those of someone who has only made 2 posts, one as promotion, the other as defense! Sorry if I p'd you off.
Regards,
Robert

 

[Papabravo]

Not at all Robert. The strength of this forum is the diversity of opinion and experience. There are many topics on this forum that I enjoy reading and refrain from commenting on because they are outside my areas of interest or experience. There is a certain sense of what is appropriate and what is not on these forums. We tend to have a low tolerance for people who ask us to do a whole design or their homework for them while giving no indication that they've made any effort to solve their own problem. Similarly we frown on people who overuse capital letters because it is interpreted as yelling. If we don't make a stand against advertising and self promotion then I predict that this board will be overrun by PCB fabricators, assembly houses, and surplus electronics outfits. That might sound like a good idea to some, but the moderators have neither the time, nor the inclination, to check and verify the accuracy of the advertisers claims. In addition many naive people might be tempted to accord them a credability that is undeserved. It is better to start a thread like "Is anybody using JAL?" or "Who has experience with JAL?" which keeps the participants in control of the discussion. It is a risky way to advertise because people can flame on your product and there is no way for the advertiser to take the negative comments down.

Here is my challenge. If you think the original post was appropriate, then follow the links, download JAL 2.0, use it to develop a project, and write a post on what you find. More information is better than less information, and sooner is better than later. In the meantime, I will continue to object when I see things that offend me. You can agree or disagree and express yourself openly, I welcome a vigourous debate on the subject.

 

[upand_at_them]

More information is better than less information

Unless you're talking about what Bea Arthur looks like naked.

Mike

 

[Papabravo]

I understand she is quite popular among the Chubby Chassers.

./>

 

[Jay.slovak]

I don't see a reason why would this post had to be removed/reduced. It has good information value.

 

[Papabravo]

The reason quite simply is that if we advertise the availability of this forum for advertising and promotion of products then those posts will increase in number and volume and drown out the rest of the discussion.

Notice that in the original post are the names of authors and contributors to the JAL project. This is a form of resume building that I feel this forum is under no obligation to support. If one of those contributors wants to post an opinion that there is something out there worth looking at, he is free to do so. Most of the members on this forum do not use their real names or even continents. If you give up your anonymity then you are engaged in self promotion. There is a place for that, but I maintain that it is not here.

As I indicated in my previous posts this is my opinion, yours can and will vary. I would challenge the people who don't understand or cannot see my objection to attempt the formulation of a policy that would draw a bright line on what kind of advertising and self promotion is allowed or tolerated on this forum. Is the issue one of cost? Is information content? How would you decide? I think this is a worthwile debate, but you may not.

 

[TekNoir]

I have to agree with Jay that the original post had good information value. Would it have been just as informative to have given just a short, succinct paragraph and a relevant web-link? Probably so, but it looks as if it were a copy/paste job anyhow and discriminating against posts based on their length is hardly worthy of anyone's time. What should be considered is the original topic and its relevancy to the forum in question.

There is a distinct difference between this post and your typical advertising/self-promotional spam. Typical spam would be cross-posted among many of the forum segments here and have no relevancy to any of them, ala the recent rash of Chinese and Korean PCB posts so prevalent of late on both this board and many others.

This post, not regarding length, is very relevant. Many of us who have worked with PICs in the past are familiar with some of van Ooijen's work, whether it being his "Start with PICs" segment on his website, his JAL compiler for PICs, his popular Wisp628 programmer, or even some of his comments and insights posted on other forums across the Internet. He has always been a good source for newcomers and veterans alike when it comes to the Microchip PIC.

You, however, sound like you are unfamiliar with JAL or any of his other work. I, for one, only frequenting this forum for the most part, would have not known of this new release had it not been for the original post and to the original poster I say, "Thank you," for that...

 

[TekNoir]

Most of the members on this forum do not use their real names or even continents.

I would have to also disagree with this. Most people on any forum have no problem in using at the very least their real first names and it is very much encouraged on this forum to have your country of origin correctly listed in your profile as different countries have very different rules regarding the use of some electronic devices, access to unique electronics components varies widely from country to country, and as well other, country specific, problems. Some questions simply cannot be answered for some posters without that information.

 

[Papabravo]

I am familiar with the work, but that is not the issue. The original post was indeed informative, that is also not the issue. If the original poster had said something like:

"I've been using this really cool package called JAL and I just discovered a new relaease here <url......>". That would look like information and not advertising.

I guess the argument about this subject is like Justice Potter Stewart and the other members of the Supreme Court arguing about pornography. To paraphrase his remarks he said: "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it". This post looks and feels like advertising. If nobody concurs then I guess I'm all alone on this one.

One more point. I never called for the removal of the post, that responsibility belongs to the admins or moderators as it should.

 

[TekNoir]

I guess the argument about this subject is like Justice Potter Stewart and the other members of the Supreme Court arguing about pornography. To paraphrase his remarks he said: "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it". This post looks and feels like advertising. If nobody concurs then I guess I'm all alone on this one.

In the past, when I first heard this quote by Justice Stewart I only had one thought on the matter... "Please let this man not be a prude or no movie will be worth watching anymore. They will all be tamer than what we allow for a G-rating right now."

I live near a woman who "feels like" any woman showing absolutely any amount of cleavage or leg whatsoever is being "pornographic." And the usage of the word pornographic to describe such an event is entirely hers. Her dress is made entirely of slacks and long-sleeved dress shirts. In other parts of this country or the world there are people who are far more closed minded than that and have opinionated presumptions about what should and should not be considered appropriate. I have known many people of this sort. Without definition an event becomes purely one person's opinion. Against the sake of perhaps sounding degenerate to a portion of the population out there, I happen to like legs, to say nothing of cleavage, and find the female form to be a beautiful experience, hardly pornographic or sexual in content... but then, I grew up with an artistic background. And that is just one man's opinion.

 

[BeeBop]

Hi,
Before I go off on a rant 'n ramble here, I want to point out that it was the OP who called for a complete removal of the post. I found this very annoying, even childish.

Sorry for this inconvenience,
I would be pleased if the moderator will remove the whole thread, interested people will find the news in some other newsgroup.

Very defensive, this is. One or two people object and he calls for it to be removed? Also, this is NOT a newsgroup, it is a forum!
I wonder if the OP is even watching this forum, and willing to address any issues? That would assert the worth of the original post, where an absence would refute such worth....
(question mark above is influence of Nigel... He is using one this way lately, and I guess I like it...<grin>)

Well I downloaded it and gave it a quick spin. To be fair, I didn't develop a project with it, just took a look, and built the demo blink project that came with the thing.
At first the editor seems quite complete and useful. There are some nice features, a quick button to windoz calculator, menu link to a comm tool, which is included, quick compile, program buttons, line numbers, code browser, and all the trimmings most good editors come with.
The first thing I looked for was a way to integrate with MP Lab. I didn't find it. This would mean importing my hex file into MP Lab, because I use ICD2. I then looked for compiler options to see if I could have a COD file and didn't find it. The next step was to see if the assembly output could easily be built with mp lab. I fired up MP, created a project and used JAL's asm file as source. It built first time, which means if you prefer the MP lab simulator, you can use it, but need to take several steps.
While you can use a programmer directly from the editor, this is not the case for my first programmer. Some background: before I got ICD2, I had a Korean programmer, and was always frustrated because it would not work by command line, and I couldn't use it out of MP Lab, so had to import my hex file into the programmer's environment. I didn't like all the steps, so perhaps I'm a bit sensitive here. Bottom line is that JAL, for me, would also require several steps to burn my file to the PIC.
JAL includes a simulator. I fired it up, but within one minute, before I had the sim file open, the thing threw an exception - Access violation. Not very nice.
I tried to find the sim file, and in doing so created a whole bunch of errors, and exceptions. It seems to me the simulator, while looking quite feature rich, was also quite bug ridden, and not more than an early beta release; not useful at all. I could be mistaken, however, I never did get to simulate my demo project.
The language seems easy enough, however the first thing I noticed was that it uses - - as a comment marker, rather than // or /* */ as C compilers, or most Pascal-Modula compilers do. I didn't like that.
The language seems to include string handling functions, and constant and variable tables, but some study is required.
Overall, I think the package is not bad at all, while it remains free. It is not, however, something I would ever spend a pile of cash on. Now what worries me, as far as free ware goes, is that several years back I spent a lot of time with a product called 'Userland Frontier,' which was a really sweet object data base, useful as a way of building web sites, amongst other things. I learned a lot about free software, and the philosophy behind that. In spite of the creator's strong arguments for free software, the project then went commercial, and the price was several thousand dollars per year as a subscription. I couldn't afford that, and just dropped out. The original post in this thread doesn't help me feel secure in the fact that this will remain free.

As far as things go, I find the Microchip tools to be the very best, when working on their chips. They provide a decent C compiler for the 18Fxxx chips and a similar product for the dsChips. Microchips positions is that the 12Fxx, and 16Fxx chips should be done with assembler, and their tools work really well for this. Their C and ds compilers are free, without limitation, and just a few optimizations clipped; they work really well for someone like me - a person who isn't making cash doing this.

There are some good, cheap, as well as, some free, but limited code size, C compilers for the 16fxx series, which integrate with MP Lab, and which do not require me to learn a whole new language - I can stick with conventions I already know, rather than something which is different, and somewhat obscure, as far as known tools go. (I think T.S. Eliot's "Tradition and the Individual Talent" should be required reading for anyone creating anything. It talks about how the greatest inovation has its roots firmly in tradition.)

Regards,
Robert

Post edited for GUSP. -r

 

[mramos1]

First off, this is not to offend. Just what I see.

I agree with both sides, but I side with PapaBravo. It was too much info.

I had already found JAL a couple days ago, and I am glad for this post that V2.0 came out as I had just look at a the jal0450 release only a couple of days go and would have not looked again for some time, so I went to look again and pulled it, and if the Lord (mine) lets me have some free time I will look at it closer soon. I am too broke to buy Proton PRO

I really did not need to read it all twice.. Now PapaB has no interest in it (or maybe he might) and has his opinion, I have an interest in the program and I still agree with him more.

If there was an ICD2 clone for $15US, point to the site and I am there, don't paste the whole site here.

It looks like an ad, it would have been better to say I found this compiler, new version 2.0, FREE, does 12Fxxx and 16Fxxx (the 12F and 16F got me right away), check it out.. <link>

Anyway, my thoughts.. Peace.. Maybe the moderators need a "new product forum", hey, lets ad a "forsale forum" too... (kidding of course, unless you have one, I have two compilers I would like to sell.)

Anyway, sure there is a student out there that needs their homework done.. Lets go look.. Or someone "like me" with a dumb problem to solve..