CCS vs. IAR for MSP430 development?

Hi Derek,

I've made most of my developments using IAR tools so far (i.e. AVR, NEC 78K0 and V850, ..).

Switching to an Eclipse based IDE was real hard during the first time since you do not know were you find all those familiar settings. It takes some time (days not weeks) to get familiar with the IDE and the differences when compared to IAR (i.e. when you need a custom memory map or startup code), but once you know the basics you will start loving eclipse. 

As you already mentioned, having one toolchain for 4 cores (MSP430, Cortex M3, Cortex M4 and C2000) is a great benefit. Many other supplier are using Eclipse too (i.e. for AVR32), so you nearly have the same benefit as with IAR (one IDE for a broad selection of cores) ; if not know then in the near future.

The cheapest version sells for $445 (https://estore.ti.com/TMDSCCS-MCUN01D-Code-Composer-Studio-IDE-Microcontroller-Node-Locked-Single-User-N01D-Download-Only-NO-DVD-P1714.aspx; look at the 'getting started guide' in case you have questions related to the installation http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/CCSv4_Getting_Started_Guide).

What about having a 'free of charge' test drive with CCS? Download the free, code size limited version (http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Download_CCS), look at the 'CCS New Project Guide' (http://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/msp43016-bit_ultra-low_power_mcus/f/166/p/18861/72798.aspx#72798) and get going with CCS.

Rgds
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