I have never played with the MPS parts.
What toolchain can I use that is both unlimited and free?
What do I need, in the general case, for device programming? I assume the Launchpad boards will be programmed with no outside device, right? But what if I embed an MPS430 in my own PCB?
I like the idea of a DIP package and the idea of a 16 bit processor. I haven't studied the device at all but, from 10,000 feet up, it seems pretty interesting.
I suppose I should ask over in the Microcontrollers Forum but since we're here...
Whoops, I forgot to answer the rest of your question in my last reply!
As for device programming, LaunchPads include onboard emulators for programming and debugging.
Some of the newer ones even include EnergyTrace++ functionality, which is really cool. In a nutshell, it lets you monitor energy usage as your program executes on the MCU. It has a very high dynamic range, showing microamps to hundreds of milliamps. Using special breakpoints in the code, it can also directly relate this energy usage to specific sections of code in the IDE. (Note this functionality only works with CCS.)
For programming a chip on your own PCB, you can actually use a LaunchPad board for that if you want (there are jumpers to disconnect the programming lines from the emulator and MCU portions of the board). The MSP430 uses a proprietary single wire debug and programming system. So all you need to do is bring out the TEST and RESET pins on your board and you should be set.
If for some reason you don't want to use the LaunchPad as a programmer, you can buy dedicated ones (produced by TI and third parties). There is also an Open Source Hardware/Software thing called the GoodFet, which is a small little USB dongle that can act as an MSP430 programmer (plus program TI's wireless parts, do
ARM JTAG programming, act as a glitch tester, etc.)