RE: Setup configuration nightmares with an otherwise excellent hardware - nRF 5x SDK

runsiv — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 08:17:39 GMT

Happy to help, please don't hesitate if there are any questions in the future

Regards

Runar

RE: Setup configuration nightmares with an otherwise excellent hardware - nRF 5x SDK

fe7565 — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 22:55:29 GMT

Thank you for the candid straightforward reply and for the detailed guide. This answers the questions I have. I will review and modify my setup accordingly.

RE: Setup configuration nightmares with an otherwise excellent hardware - nRF 5x SDK

runsiv — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 07:33:47 GMT

Hi Tom

Thanks for reaching out to us. When comparing NCS vs nrf5 sdk in terms of how easy it is to set up its kind of a mixed bag. The jump from bare metal in nrf5 SDK to Zephyr in the NCS SDK can be a big leap. At least it was for me when I joined the company after working bare metal in the past. Luckily the review is a few years old now and the SDK has gone through multiple releases since then where the experience has been improved.

You no longer need to use the nRF Connect for Desktop app to install the toolchain and SSDK. This can be done from the VScode extension as seen here

I would also note that with introduction of Zephyr the amount of samples you now have access to should cover most use cases. With NCS it is also easy to configure the project for different build targets as seen below.

We have also created a graphical tool since the review to edit the devicetree( A devicetree is a hierarchical data structure primarily used to describe hardware) which makes it easier if you prefer to use graphical tools.

The documentation has improved and we have created our devAcademy courses to help you get familiar with the SDK(beginner and intermediate course), a BLE course, Wifi course and a Cellular course. My recommendation to someone how has never worked with NCS is to always start with the nRF Connect SDK Fundamentals course. As it gives you an introduction on how everything hangs together. For my part especially the device tree was something new to me and I felt the lack of easy documentation.

The review mentioned the building from the command line. This is more of a personal preference, I have colleagues how always uses the command line to build their applications wheres as I prefer to just use buttons in Vscode since I'm working there anyway.

For newer devices we have also created a quick start app that handheld you through the entire installation project to make everything easier for the user. However I'm not sure if this will be updated to include older devices

Regards

Runar