I have been developing embedded processors since the Intel 8748 and 8051. Those and current processors, Atmel, Microchip, Ti, all have open use compilers and linkers to load a C source file onto the chip in raw HEX code.
Is there a way to do this on the P2? I have been handed a C++ source file from a sister division and they want me to work with the code on a P2 which I just bought new. However this setup process is very frustrating especially working behind a very secure firewall*.
*Is the P2 a professional or hobbyist product? Because most technology companies that would use a P2 have secure firewalls to protect their IP. Seems a bit limiting the P2 boot loader firmware does not have facilities to deal with that?
The P2 is intended to be a cloud-based product, so most of the instructions and tooling are oriented in that direction. If you are only interested in bare-metal implementation, there are less-expensive Wi-Fi chipsets than the P2.
That said, you can use the gcc-arm toolchain to product a firmware binary and flash that using a CMSIS-DAP debugger. There are tools like the hex generator to combine user binaries and Device OS into a single hex file for flashing with a SWD debugger.
The P2 can be run without cloud access enabled but it's not intended to be used that way.
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Ok, that brings me to another question. Is the P2 intended for embedding into commercial products? The issue is what happens if Particle is sold or is dissolved? I have been burned by that once before using cloud based development tools.
Yes, the P2 is intended to be used in commercial products.
The gcc-arm toolchain uses native cross-compilers so it could work even if Particle did not exist.
However, since Particle is part of Digi, a company that has been around for over 40 years, we believe the likelihood that we will go out of business is very low.
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