New dev tool for FV-1

[cloudscapes]

This was posted on the electro-music forum. Andrew Kilpatrick had initially made this to suit hsi needs and was kind enough to release it just now. What's especially interesting is that there's a sim, so you can start tinkerign with FV-1 code without the hardware.

http://www.andrewkilpatrick.org/?p=elmgen

I can't get the .jar to launch on my computer, but maybe others here will have better luck.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

It is assumed that users have a knowledge of programming in Java

@#$%.

I was so stoked!

[Taylor]

Hmm, interesting. At 4 in the morning, I must admit that I don't yet see how this might be useful. But I'm sure it is.

I know how to program the FV1, but this seems much more complicated... Hopefully tomorrow the utility of this will be clear to me.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

Hmm, interesting. At 4 in the morning, I must admit that I don't yet see how this might be useful. But I'm sure it is.

I know how to program the FV1, but this seems much more complicated... Hopefully tomorrow the utility of this will be clear to me.

You can *test your code* to see how it would sound without even plugging anything in!

[slacker]

It can program the EEPROM, using an Arduino DEV kit, meaning you don't need the Spin Development kit. This is nice for non Windows users and people who don't want to shell out for the DEV kit. Admittedly you can do this anyway by exporting the HEX file out of SPIN ASM and using a separate EEPROM burner, but having it integrated with the IDE is nice.

[cloudscapes]

It is assumed that users have a knowledge of programming in Java

@#$%.

I was so stoked!

But it can previer your code pretty much instantly! This makes it a great asm/java learning tool because you don't have to debugg actual hardware when it inevitably doesn't work.

[Dimitree]

I can't get the .jar to launch on my computer, but maybe others here will have better luck.

me too, but maybe because double click on it is not the right way to launch it?

[cloudscapes]

I can't get the .jar to launch on my computer, but maybe others here will have better luck.

me too, but maybe because double click on it is not the right way to launch it?

No idea. I doubleclick on other random .jars and they work.

[Taylor]

Hmm, I guess since I have the dev board and a PC (I switched, partially due to my interest in the FV1) it might not offer much for me.

I will say that if it's possible to step through operations and look at what the accumulator is doing after each operation, that would be hugely helpful.

[ExpAnonColin]

This is smart.  Sounds a lot like Mark's DSP development kit - his also does simulations (or is planned to), and it's written in python, which is a plus.  The other downside is the FV-1 - while cool, it's limited in scope thanks to the set number of pots, etc.

Edit - also, if you've programmed C and/or python, you'll be fine in Java.  Java of all languages should not be a barrier!

-Colin

[Hides-His-Eyes]

I've done a bit of C++. Is it java or javascript with the bad reputation?

[markseel]

This looks promising but I think it would be even better if it used the Eclipse IDE which was designed to be extensible by writing pluggins.  I've used Eclipse based environments for a number of platforms now.  It seems to me that putting effort into Eclipse extensions for FV-1 or Wavefront would be the way to go rather than writing your own GUI.  But Kudos to Kilpatrick for giving it a shot and sharing it with others!

This is smart.  Sounds a lot like Mark's DSP development kit - his also does simulations (or is planned to), and it's written in python, which is a plus.  The other downside is the FV-1 - while cool, it's limited in scope thanks to the set number of pots, etc.
-Colin

That's right, the Python script for the Next Audio AL3102 DSP board simulates the program for you and uses WAVE files for input and output.  But it's not super fast - a 'C' implementation might be a good idea.

It can program the EEPROM, using an Arduino DEV kit, meaning you don't need the Spin Development kit. This is nice for non Windows users and people who don't want to shell out for the DEV kit. Admittedly you can do this anyway by exporting the HEX file out of SPIN ASM and using a separate EEPROM burner, but having it integrated with the IDE is nice.

Very cool.  So basically anyone can build an FV-1 board and use this method as long as the I2C lines are accessible.

[slacker]

It is assumed that users have a knowledge of programming in Java

@#$%.

I was so stoked!

If you watch the video it sounds like you don't have to use java and can just use the standard Spin assembly language. I think he's just added extra functions that use java style code and these then get converted to assembly in the background.

[ExpAnonColin]

I've done a bit of C++. Is it java or javascript with the bad reputation?

Both, really.  But they are totally different languages.  Java is kind of like a potentially easier to understand, extremely cross-platform, potentially slower, very objective C++.  Kind of.

-Colin

[juancra]

Sorry for reviving this, but was possible for anyone of you to run the tool? I launched Eclipse and got to the point of adding the jar, but I don't know how to continue since the explanation from the site is very vague.

Thanks,
Sebastian

[Digital Larry]

I have spent the last few months developing SpinCAD Designer, which leverages Andrew Kilpatrick's Java implementation of the Spin FV-1's instruction set into a visual CAD system where you can create algorithms from smaller building blocks without ever writing a single line of ASM or Java.  I am preparing to release this program as a beta test in a couple weeks.  In the meantime you can check some screen shots and sample algorithms I have developed this way over here at the Spin Forum:

http://www.spinsemi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=384

I need 5 more beta testers, so if you are interested please send me a private message.

Thanks,

Digital Larry