TI C2000 compiler not recognized by VS Code - visual-studio-code

Question

I am trying to set TI C2000 C/C++ compiler (cl2000.exe) in the "compilerPath", but the VS Code says:
Unable to resolve configuration with compilerPath ".../bin/cl2000.exe". Using "cl.exe" instead.
Is there a way to make this work, eg to manually specify where to find include files etc., or compilers other than big ones (gcc, clang) just do not work with VS Code no matter what I do?
I do not need features like debugger, library documentation etc., but I do need intellisense (msvc-x64). I could just use cl.exe as a defined compiler, but it does not recognize some compiler-specific stuff like __attributes__((ramfunc)), it does not use proper <stdint.h> etc.

Answer 1

With the current C/C++ extension (v1.7.1) I don't think what you want is achievable, as it seems it needs to have some kind of integration with the compiler to extract a lot of "hidden" information from it, and currently only Microsoft's C compiler, Clang and GCC are supported (source).
In any case, you can get a lot of functionality working with the right c_cpp_settings.json.
Here's a copy of my current setup for a project on the F280049C. I have the motor control SDK added as a submodule on the project folder, something you might not need. Make sure that you add all the different SDKs and other bits and bobs that are relevant to your project.
For the defines property, I checked the project properties in Code Composer, and then in CSS Build / C2000 Compiler / Predefined Symbols there's a list of defines passed at the command line. There's a bunch of "hidden" defines that I don't know how to get, see my comment in the code below. Take the ones on the example with a pinch of salt, your defines might be different.
The C and C++ standard can be checked in the flags passed in the command line (in my project they are C++03 and C11).
Compiler Path has to be left empty (""), as the extension can't use the C2000 compiler, that's why you get the Unable to resolve configuration with compilerPath ".../bin/cl2000.exe". Using "cl.exe" instead. error. I guess VS Code sees the "cl.exe" compiler, a compiler the C/C++ extension can use (it's Microsoft's VS compiler, maybe the fact that its name is similar to TI's is misleading you there)
About the intelliSense mode, nothing will work with the devilish architecture of the C2000. I prefer to set intelliSense to 32 bits, but that's just as wrong as 64 bits, so pick your poison there. Keep in mind that things like the values of sizeof or pointers will be wrong in VS Code (as you are telling it to treat them as a 32 bit architecture).
Try this config. You will get lots of red squiggly lines under some includes, but most of them should be in your browse path and can be automatically added by clicking in the yellow bulb icon.
{
"env": {
"SDKPath": "${workspaceFolder}/../lib/C2000Ware_MotorControl_SDK_3_01_00_00",
"StdLibPath": "C:/ti/ccs1031/ccs/tools/compiler/ti-cgt-c2000_20.2.5.LTS",
"XDCTools": "C:/ti/ccs1031/xdctools_3_62_00_08_core",
"TIBIOS": "C:/ti/bios_6_83_00_18/packages/"
},
"configurations": [
{
"name": "TI",
"includePath": [
"${workspaceFolder}/**"
],
"browse": {
"path": [
"${StdLibPath}/**",
"${SDKPath}/**",
"${XDCTools}/**",
"${TIBIOS}/**"
]
},
"defines": [
"_F28004x",
"DEBUG",
"_INLINE",
"_FLASH",
"DRV8353_SPI",
// Hidden predefined symbols. They are set by the compiler by default, but
// they are not output on the command line and I haven't found a way to
// list them yet
// needed for STL (see s_c__system.h)
"_STLP_COMPILER",
"__TI_COMPILER_VERSION__"
],
"compilerPath": "",
"cStandard": "c11",
"cppStandard": "c++03",
"intelliSenseMode": "gcc-x86"
}
],
"version": 4
}
Keep in mind that when working with microcontrollers there's a lot of customization to do, but I think this will get you on the good track.