Development environment recommendation?

[Ken58]

It has been about 4 years since I was developing for the nrf52840.  During that time, it seems Nordic has moved to promoting the VS Code IDE vs. Segger Embedded Studio.  If starting a new project, which IDE is recommended?

Ken

[Marte Myrvold]

Hi Ken,

VS Code with our nRF Connect for VS Code extension is the recommended. Since it is 4 years since you developed with Nordic products you might not be aware that we have switched to a new SDK in that time, the nRF Connect SDK. The VS Code extension is only supported with this SDK, so if you are using nRF5 SDK then Segger Embedded Studio is still the recommended IDE. However, we recommend all new projects to be developed in nRF Connect SDK.

I will give you some links to hopefully help you get started and find more information:

• nRF Connect SDK documentation. If you look under 'Getting started' you will find a guide on how to install the SDK and toolchain, and how to build and flash programs.
• DevAcademy - nRF Connect SDK Fundamentals - Hands-on course for learning the essentials of nRF Connect SDK.
• nRF Connect for VS Code extension
• nRF Connect SDK and nRF5 SDK statement - An article explaining why we have moved to nRF Connect SDK.

Best regards,

Marte

[Ken58]

Hi Marty,

Thanks very much for your advice!

Have a great day,

Ken

[Ken58]

Hi Marte,

A follow on question:  What would be your development IDE recommendation if I am developing a bluetooth app that has a central role to run on on Windows, Mac OS, or iOS?  What bluetooth stack would you recommend?

Ken

[Marte Myrvold]

Hi Ken,

I do not have any recommendations when it comes to developing apps for PC or phone, but you will probably be able to find some information if you search online.

Windows has a native Windows Bluetooth LE API which you can look into, for example:

https://github.com/Microsoft/Windows-universal-samples/tree/main/Samples/BluetoothLE

You can find more information in the Windows developer page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/devices-sensors/bluetooth-low-energy-overview.

Apple also has its own API, which you can find information about and examples for on their developer page: https://developer.apple.com/bluetooth/

For iOS we have an example app that can be used for new developers to get started, the iOS nRF Blinky app.

Best regards,

Marte