New compilers and development boards: introducing the FT90x

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srdjan.misic
mikroElektronika team
Posts: 296
Joined: 11 Feb 2014 15:55

New compilers and development boards: introducing the FT90x

#1 Post by srdjan.misic » 04 Mar 2015 18:25

New compilers and development boards: introducing the FT90x solution


Announced last summer, then first shown at Embedded World 2015, it is our pleasure to
finally introduce the all new FT90x solution — a new set of compilers and development
boards for the 32-bit FT90x microcontrollers from FTDI Chip.

Image

The FT90x solution comprises the complete set of compilers, mikroC, mikroBasic and
mikroPascal, an EasyFT90x v7 board, a clicker 2 for ft90x board, and to tie up the software
and hardware together, mikroProg for FT90x.

The FT90x solution is our fourth 32-bit offering, the other three being PIC32 and two ARM
vendors. But unlike those, FT90x is a new architecture with a 32-bit RISC core called
FT32. With FT32, FTDI Chip engineers pulled a feat not seen from any other Chip Maker. Namely,
FT90x MCUs execute from Shadow RAM and are able to achieve a staggering 3.1DMIPS/MHz.
That’s twice the speed of ARM cortex M4. It’s also fast enough to stream video, so it only
made sense to integrate a camera parallel interface.

All this power is yours for the taking. The FT90x toolchain comes in our standard form factors
you’re used to. You’ll be able to jump right into a familiar environment and instantly broaden
your arsenal of development skills.


Let’s go over the tools, starting from the compilers.

Image

There’s no use for a fast chip if it slows you down as a developer and mikroC, mikroPascal and
mikroBasic for FT90x do just the opposite — they make you more productive. Out of the box,
the compilers have more than 500 functions and more than 150 examples, and this is just
the first release.

But it’s not just that, the compilers have some new, seemingly minor perks, that can actually
make you a lot faster.

The use of wild cards in code completion is one such feature. Simple example: type *can, hit
ctrl+space and you’ll get a complete list of identifiers that include CAN anywhere in their name.
This is one of those hacks that don’t seem like much on paper but have a disproportionate impact
on your productivity.

Image

Then there’s EasyFT90x v7, a playground worthy of these compilers. The first “Easy” board
you can take selfies with. Taking advantage of FT90x’s Camera Parallel Interface, a CMOS
image sensor
stares at you right from the center of the board. You can stream video directly
to the onboard EasyTFT and see yourself nodding in approval as you review all the other modules.
(Everything you’d expect from a seventh generation “Easy” board: onboard programmer, mikroBUS™ sockets,
two Analog inputs, CAN, USB Host & device ports and so on.)

Image

A more compact hardware counterpart to the compilers is clicker 2 for FT90x.
The fast click board two seater will let you quickly build up a working gadget using the
selection of any of our 100 click boards. Experiment and learn how FT90x integrates with
all sorts of transceivers, sensors, displays, motor drivers.

Image

Finally, mikroProg for FT90x is a hardware programmer/debugger in a trademark slick white
casing. EasyFT90x v7 already has a mikroProg onboard, but for everything else the hardware
debugger will be the most efficient way to debug your applications. It’s especially useful now
in the beginning, while you’re still getting acquainted with the new architecture.

For more information on each of these boards, start from the FT90x solution page.

You may have noticed that both EasyFT90x and clicker have the identical FT900 MCU.
Eight more FT90x chips are coming up, but these tools will support them when they come.

Now it’s up to you. Get on the bandwagon while it’s still early days, establish your credentials
and reap the benefits when the FT90x architecture gains more prominence. There’s no reason
it won’t — just read its specs from a data sheet. The least you could to is write a little MikroE
history by being the first one to post something on Libstock with for FT90x.

Yours sincerely,
MikroElektronika

Megahurts
Posts: 900
Joined: 01 Oct 2009 22:48
Location: Rocky Mountains, USA.

Re: New compilers and development boards: introducing the FT

#2 Post by Megahurts » 09 Mar 2015 21:47

Nice!

And out sooner than I expected. Now to save up for possible addition to the collection of Dev. tools.

But I did spot an error on the FT90x Clicker2 product web page, it has a link to a ST MPU instead of the FT90x MPU.
FT90xClicker2_page error.jpg
FT90xClicker2_page error.jpg (45.86 KiB) Viewed 92762 times
For your attention to fix, Robert.
HW: easyPIC5|PICFlash2|easyBT|smartGSM|easyGSM|PICPLC16|mmWorkStation|FT800 Eve|PIC Clicker/2|
MMBs:PIC18F,PIC33EP,PIC32|CLICKs:DAC,ADC,GPS L10,Thermo,8x8B LED,Stepper,W/B OLED,9DOF,GPS3,tRF,Hall I|

SW: mP for PIC|mB for PIC-dsPIC-PIC32|Visual-TFT|

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milos.nikolic
Posts: 1
Joined: 13 Jan 2015 13:13

Re: New compilers and development boards: introducing the FT

#3 Post by milos.nikolic » 10 Mar 2015 09:30

Hello Robert,

We appreciate your help!
It was just a typing mistake, no more then that and it's already been fixed (thanks to your good eye).

Best regards
Milos Nikolic

alanp
Posts: 27
Joined: 18 Feb 2013 14:22

Re: New compilers and development boards: introducing the FT

#4 Post by alanp » 24 Oct 2015 15:19

Hi

Does the FT90x v7 development board ship with an MCU module that supports the onboard ethernet adapter?
Are the ethernet drivers and examples in the Basic compiler the correct ones for the onboard ethernet or are they for the old 28J60 Clik boards?

In short: I want to use this board to develop an FT90x system using the inbuilt ethernet controller and need to make sure it will do the job before spending $400+ on board and compiler.

thanks

Alan

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Aleksandar.Mitrovic
mikroElektronika team
Posts: 1697
Joined: 11 Mar 2015 12:48

Re: New compilers and development boards: introducing the FT

#5 Post by Aleksandar.Mitrovic » 26 Oct 2015 15:56

Dear Alan,

This FT900 MCU have integrated ETH:
http://www.ftdichip.com/MCU.html

And the Ethernet connector on the board is controlled by the FT900 internal module.

If you take a look at the example in our compiler example folder you can find example code for this:
...\MikroElektronika\EasyFT90x Examples\mikroBasic PRO for FT90x\Examples\EasyFT90x V7\Ethernet Demo

Kind regards,
Aleksandar

ujjwalrathod007
Posts: 4
Joined: 07 Dec 2015 07:33

Re: New compilers and development boards: introducing the FT

#6 Post by ujjwalrathod007 » 07 Dec 2015 07:47

Aleksandar.Mitrovic wrote:Dear Alan,

This FT900 MCU have integrated ETH:
http://www.ftdichip.com/MCU.html

And the Ethernet connector on the board is controlled by the FT900 internal module.

If you take a look at the example in our compiler example folder you can find example code for this:
...\MikroElektronika\EasyFT90x Examples\mikroBasic PRO for FT90x\Examples\EasyFT90x V7\Ethernet Demo

Kind regards,
Aleksandar
Attachments
I have a problem with easyPIC v7...... connection link led is on but it is not showing in software so I am not able to write the program in PIC
I have a problem with easyPIC v7...... connection link led is on but it is not showing in software so I am not able to write the program in PIC
Capture.PNG (780.72 KiB) Viewed 69442 times

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aleksa.jovanovic
Posts: 526
Joined: 30 Jun 2015 08:48

Re: New compilers and development boards: introducing the FT

#7 Post by aleksa.jovanovic » 07 Dec 2015 09:43

Hi ujjwalrathod007,

Please reinstall the mikroProg suite and it's drivers as Admin (Right click > Run as Admin)
Also try disabling driver signature verification (You can see that procedure by googling that term)
Run the mikroProg suite as Admin.

Also in the future please post your questions in the correct topics and don't post the same subject twice.

Best regards,
Aleksa

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