General Questions:
1.1 Q - What do I need to compile the software?
A - The software build requirements are:
1. Hitech PICC-18 Compiler Version 8.35PL3 or later.
2. Salvo Version 3.2.3 PRO (the full source code version) or later.
3. A Microchip Development or Programming environment where the MCU will be
programmed after the software has been compiled.
GS3 Provides the appropriate Linux based tools to compile the software but you still need
the hardware programmer.
1.2. Q - Is Linux the only platform supported?
A - GS3 Technologies Inc, uses Linux for all internal software development. We made a
choice, a long time ago, to use Linux as our primary environment. In the future we might
provide support for Windows users, but at the present we simply do not have the
resources to do so.
1.3. Q - What Linux Distribution is the software supported under?
A - We have tested the software under Slackware and Fedora Linux. Our testing and
day-to-day work is done on Slackware. Actually, any Linux distribution that is supported
by Hitech should also work.
1.4. Q - Why do you use the Hitech Compiler?
A - First, Hitech PICC-18 is an excellent compiler. It allows us to build a very custom software
system in a very efficient way.
The other reason is that it supports Linux.
1.5. Q - Do I need Salvo?
A - The GS3 Software distribution uses Salvo extensively. Salvo provides the RTOS to
multitask and as a result we get high performance from our hardware.
The original, Microchip provided, stack used a different method to multitask (namely a
State machine). We decided that Salvo provided a superior way to accomplish our
multitasking needs.
1.6. Q - Why did you use the Microchip stack as a base?
A - We believe that Microchip created a very good product which served their developers
well.
We needed more from the software so we decided to do a re-write.
1.7. Q - How much of the original software is still there?
A - The IP, ARP, DHCP and ICMP modules have a small(to medium) number of modifications.
The rest of the system has been mostly re-written.
