Texas Instruments Code Composer Studio Cloud

Code Composer Studio is the official IDE from Texas Instruments to support the different families of MCUs and MPUS.

Texas Instruments' new landing online page offers a wide collection of tools.

Code Composer Studio Cloud, very close to CCS 6 and with support to Energia,
Resource Explorer, to access all the documentation,
LaunchPad BoosterPack Compatibility Checker, to check the compatibility when combining different boards,
Pin Mux, to build the mix configuration,
and many more, like the GUI Composer and UniFlash.

Features

The main benefit of CCS Cloud is it requires almost no installation. Only two files need to be downloaded and installed: an extension for the browser and a driver to communicate to the board.

I wasn't able to run CCS Cloud on Safari, but everything went fine on Chrome.

CCS Cloud provides most of the features of the full CCS, like importing Energia projects and debugging.

However, some advanced features like EnergyTrace aren't supported.

On the right, an example with a multi-treaded project for the LaunchPad MSP432 on Energia MT.

On the bottom of the screen, the output and the debugging consoles.

Occasionnaly, connection is lost but fortunately, nothing is lost after resuming the connection.

LaunchPad BoosterPack Compatibility Checker

Is this BoosterPack compatible with this LaunchPad? Can those two BoosterPacks be used together?

The LaunchPad BoosterPack Compatibility Checker provides a fast and easy response.

Select first the LaunchPad and then the BoosterPack to get the answer.

On the right, I've selected the LaunchPad CC3200 WiFi and the Educational BoosterPack MK-II. Compatibility shows a resounding green Yes.

Adding the Fuel Tank BoosterPack MK-II to the previous configuration turns the light from green Yes to red No.

The pins map is interactive, and shows a warning on pin 19 (below, left) and an error on pin 36 (below, right).

However in real life, the Fuel Tank BoosterPack MK-II can be used with the the LaunchPad CC3200 WiFi and the Educational BoosterPack MK-II except for the advanced gauge features.

Click to enlarge

Conclusion

I am not a big fan of tools on the cloud, because they require a fast and reliable internet connection.

However, Texas Instruments engineers have done a great job in releasing the cloud tools.

Apart from CCS Cloud, the resource explorer, the pin mix utility and the LaunchPad BoosterPack compatibility checker are very helpful, easy to install and fast to use.

Based on the look-and-feel, CCS Cloud seems to rely on Cloud9. Any chance for a package to run on a local server?

CCS Cloud communicates with the off-the-cloud and allows to import and export projects easily.

Pros

No installation needed!
All modern amenities
Imports and creates Energia sketches

Cons

As for all cloud-based tools, a fast and reliable connection is required.

Wrap-Up

Plug-and-play
Powerful IDE with all the modern amenities
Support for Energia
Wide range of tools