So how do you even start working with STM32 without paying an arm and a leg?

[Klaas]

EmBitz is the only free IDE which supports live variables and out-of-the-box experience with STM32. It's much faster than any Eclipse based IDE.
Nice article on this forum:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/microcontrollers/inexpensive-arm-development-tools/



Download:  http://www.emblocks.org/web/downloads-main

[rstofer]

I bought the book "Mastering STM32" and set up the toolchain using the instructions given.  In the end, this would include Eclipse Neon gcc-arm and OpenOCD.  I also have STM32 ST-Link and ST32F Cube.  Excellent instructions!

i would rather have the projects folder outside the C:\STM32Toolchain directory but there is no compelling reason.

Here's what I enjoy:  Yes I can build STM32F projects immediately after installing the toolchain.  Then I can install enough of cygwin64 to get the x86 version of gcc as well as gfortran.  If I wanted to, I could also work with python and java in the same environment.  In the end, ALL of my code development uses the same IDE.  All of my projects are in the same directory tree and I don't have to go hunting for stuff.  In years gone by, I used Eclipse to write code for AVRs but the new version, Neon, is FAR superior to what it used to be.  The plug-ins really work!

It escapes me how an IDE can be considered 'slow'.  Yes, Eclipse takes a bit to load, all java programs are slow loaders.  But once it is loaded (what, ten seconds, once a day?), the rest of the time it spends waiting on a slow typist.  In terms of compile speed and that kind of thing, well, that's up to the toolchain, not the IDE.

I also like the fact that Eclipse builds the Makefiles and handles the dependencies.  In terms of Fortran, I just code and go, the IDE and toolchain take care of all of the details.

One IDE for everything!

This is an old thread, I am pretty sure I discussed the Mastering ST32 book above somewhere.  TL;DR

[nctnico]

I tried Eclipse Neon but on Linux is causes screen artefacts and it won't build existing projects properly on Windows so I'll wait for the next version.

[rstofer]

I tried Eclipse Neon but on Linux is causes screen artefacts and it won't build existing projects properly on Windows so I'll wait for the next version.

In case I bring over some older Makefile projects, what exactly goes wrong with Windows projects?  The biggest problem I have had is when the toolchain or libraries are moved.
I have only been using Neon for a few weeks but, so far, I like it a lot.

What I don't want to do is have several IDEs.  I am still using Visual Studio and, since it will build Makefile projects, I could just stay there.  But it's even slower to load than Neon!

Under Linux, I don't tend to use an IDE.  I use gedit to create the source and 'make' to build the output.  I haven't tried this with mbed like boards but it worked well when working with older ARMs (LPC2148, LPC2106) and the AVRs.  But that's because there were download programs callable from the Makefile.  I haven't looked into this lately.

[janoc]

I tried Eclipse Neon but on Linux is causes screen artefacts and it won't build existing projects properly on Windows so I'll wait for the next version.

For me Neon works fine in Linux. Graphics driver issues? I have an Nvidia GPU, so no problem, but I can imagine Intel/AMD users may not be that lucky.

I had Eclipse also sometimes  conflict with the desktop effects (compositor) - if you have transparent/wobbly windows on, try to disable compositing. That often cures these issues.

[Sal Ammoniac]

Neon works okay in Windows, but I've reverted back to Mars because EmbSysRegView doesn't work in Neon.

[antonc]

Personally I started with a Nucleo dev board to get the hang of the hardware, then snapped off the ST-link bit, and now use that as a programmer/debugger with my own boards. (Yes, I'm a cheap bastard).
After too many years of stuffing around with Linux, I now use Mac OS (Yosemite, after El Capitan broke everything USB), and OpenOCD for debugging. No IDE, 'cause I'm also an old school command line type of person, so Makefiles, Xcode (for the editor only) and a number of scripts. Oh, and I'm using ChibiOS, primarily for the hardware abstraction layer. Makes life soooo much easier. [Woops. Edit. forgot the other stuff] GCC toolchain.

[technix]

Personally I started with a Nucleo dev board to get the hang of the hardware, then snapped off the ST-link bit, and now use that as a programmer/debugger with my own boards. (Yes, I'm a cheap bastard).
After too many years of stuffing around with Linux, I now use Mac OS (Yosemite, after El Capitan broke everything USB), and OpenOCD for debugging. No IDE, 'cause I'm also an old school command line type of person, so Makefiles, Xcode (for the editor only) and a number of scripts. Oh, and I'm using ChibiOS, primarily for the hardware abstraction layer. Makes life soooo much easier. [Woops. Edit. forgot the other stuff] GCC toolchain.

I never bothered to set up the toolchain on macOS (I am running Sierra - I pay Apple 100 bucks a year for Apple Developer Program, and to me that was money well spent as I do have a few iOS apps hanging on the App Store) but from what I know the default toolchain came with Xcode can build code for Cortex-M (Apple themselves are using NXP LPC1800 after all.) My MacBook Pro is suffering from extremely limited RAM space.

[ralphrmartin]

mbed + GCC

[martinayotte]

http://www.stm32duino.com/

[rob42]

I use standard Eclipse with CDT plugin and official ARM-GCC toolchain for STM32, and AVR-GCC for AVR, all under Linux.
No hardware debugging (just pin/LED toggle, LCD/LED indicator or USART logging depending on available hardware).
Flashing via stm32flash/avrdude.

Everything works ok, all hardware costs me 3$ for USB-RS232 + USBASP, and 5$ for STM32F030 dev.board + Arduino-Nano/Mini.