Shouldn’t there be an easier way to have an offline compiler for the Particle Build IDE? I wanted to try this as an alternative to the Arduino Uno but debugging using the offline compiler becomes difficult. And the serial monitor doesn’t work unless it’s paired with a wifi device and we don’t use the offline compiler for some reason. Not a demand. More like advice.
I’m not sure how I can get around this. I need to use the serial monitor in a place with limited wifi connectivity and it’s been very difficult to do that (and is indeed a waste of time).
Am I doing something wrong or just using the device wrong?
There is a local compile option using a standard gcc embedded ARM toolchain. Works great and gives full control but you need to be ready for something more complex than the Arduino IDE. If there is a particular IDE you like, such as Eclipse, somebody has probably made it work already. You can do over-the-air updates or use DFU mode to load code.
There is the Particle DEV which is a local editor based on Atom, currently offering web compile but might offer local compile in the future.
There is the Particle CLI which uses web compile.
There is the Particle web IDE (build button).
With the web compiler you can download the binary file and use DFU mode if you want to.
USB Serial works with or without a WiFi connection but if you want to use it without, you have plan for it since the device will attempt to connect to the Particle cloud unless you change the system mode. Check the doc for system modes to see how.
Thanks for that @bko ! I’m trying to convince some of my friends to switch to the Photon but it’s hard to convince them without an easy access to the serial monitor and a direct (wifi independent) mode. I like the idea of playing with thing that I’m not familiar with but I can’t say the same about everyone. I was just hoping that the Particle DEV (based on Atom) or something else will support easy access to offline compilers as well as USB Serial (without requiring extra configuration).
I will change the system mode and try that. I haven’t tried that yet. Thank you.