Minimal GNU ARM Eclipse Setup

Installation

This is how to install the most GNU ARM Eclipse development environment without any of the extra tools included in the standard Eclipse CDT distribution.

Toolchain

Follow the instructions under the Downloading and OS X headings of the Toolchain Installation Instructions.

SEGGER J-Link

Download the Software and Documentation Pack for OS X from the J-Link Software Site.

OpenOCD

From the GNU ARM Eclipse Installation Guide:

OpenOCD might be needed when using development boards with integrated debuggers, like STM32F4-DISCOVERY boards, although the recommended solution is to prepare a custom cable and connect them to J-Link.

Download and install the .pkg from the OpenOCD GitHub Releases page. (Note that this may be a development release.)

QEMU

Download and install the most recent .pkg release from the QEMU GitHub Releases page.

Eclipse

DO NOT get the Eclipse IDE for C/C++ Developers. While this will work fine, it includes a bunch of plugins that cannot be uninstalled later.

Eclipse Platform Runtime Binary

The Eclipse Platform Runtime Binary is the most stripped-down version of Eclipse available. Here’s how to get it: * Main downloads page: http://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/downloads/ * Go to the most recent build (Latest Downloads → Build Name). The build number is the link, not the “(X of Y Platforms)” part – that takes you to the test results report. * Scroll down to “Platform Runtime Binary” and download the appropriate archive. Notice the size – for Mars, it’s 66M vs 203M for the entire SDK.

Install GNU ARM Eclipse Plug-ins

Since the Platform Runtime Binary doesn’t include Eclipse Marketplace, use the Eclipse Update Site method as detailed under the heading “The Eclipse update site way” of the official GNU ARM Eclipse Installation Instructions, reprinted here:

Add Repository

• in the Install window, click the Add… button (on future updates, just select the URL in the Work with: combo)
• fill in Name: with GNU ARM Eclipse Plug-ins
• fill in Location: with http://gnuarmeclipse.sourceforge.net/updates
• click the OK button

Select Installation Items

• Cross Compiler
• Generic Cortex-M Template
• J-Link Debugging
• OpenOCD Debugging
• Packs
• QEMU Debugging
• STM32Fx Templates

Workspace Configuration

Follow the instructions here http://gnuarmeclipse.github.io/eclipse/workspace/preferences/ with the following additions:

• Refresh using native hooks
• Refresh on access
• Disable spell checking
  • in General → Editors → Text Editors → Spelling
  • uncheck Enable spell checking
• Disable Quick Diff
  • in General → Editors → Text Editors → Quick Diff
  • uncheck Enable quick diff
• Disable indexing of files not included in the build
  • in Preferences → C/C++ → Indexer
  • uncheck Index source files not included in the build
• Mark occurences
  • in Preferences → C/C++ → Editor
  • uncheck Keep marks when the selection changes
• Don’t load UI Responsiveness Monitoring Plug-in on startup
  • in General → Startup and Shutdown
  • uncheck UI Responsiveness Monitoring
• Menlo font (Mac OS X only)
  • in General → Appearance → Colors and Fonts
  • expand Basic
  • select Text Font
  • hit Edit… and select Menlo
• Make scrollbars visible always (Mac OS X only)
  • in your shell startup script, add: defaults write -app Eclipse AppleShowScrollBars Always
  • restart Eclipse
  • this improves scrolling performance related to a 5+ year old bug in Eclipse