PIC Development Studio

It is a program for development and simulation of software for the PIC16F84 microcontroller made by Microchip. With this program you can write the code, build it and test if it works in a few seconds. While debugging, you see the internal content of all registers. PIC Development Studio is not just only a PIC16F84 simulator. You can simulate entire digital projects provided that the needed components are available. You connect the components together just as they would be in reality and start the simulation. There are included keyboards, simple displays, basic logic circuits, a tone generator and an oscilloscope probe. If these don't fulfil your needs, writing own components isn't difficult.

What's new As of 2007 when Richard Keed decided to join the project has version 1.1 of the simulator been relased. This include a set of new components, including HD44780 compatible LCD. The PIC 16F84 component has also been updated with some bug fixes and the missing computed gotos feature has be implemented. Getting PIC Development Studio You can download the program free of charge. Java 5.0 or later, available at www.java.com, is required for PIC Development Studio. The program is released under the GPL license and can be freely distribute to others. Source code is available through the SVN repository at Sourceforge.net. History PIC Development Studio was started as hobby project by Andreas Doktar during his university studies. After one year's spare time effort was 1.0 release in spring 2002. Afterwards was development ceased until Richard Keed in 2007 decided to continue development the simulator

Source : http://picdev.sourceforge.net/webpage/

Kicad:GPL PCB Suite

Kicad is an open source (GPL) software for the creation of electronic schematic diagrams and printed circuit board artwork.

Designed and written by Jean-Pierre Charras, a researcher at LIS (Laboratoire des Images et des Signaux) and a teacher in IUT de Saint Martin d'Hères.(France), in the field of electrical engineering and image processing.
Kicad is a set of four softwares and a project manager:

• Eeschema :Schematic entry.
• Pcbnew :Board editor.
• Gerbview :GERBER viewer (photoplotter documents).
• Cvpcb :footprint selector for components used in the circuit design.
• Kicad: project manager.

With the project manager, Kicad, you can choose or create a project and launch Eeschema, Pcbnew, etc. This electronic workbench is free of charges and is open source (GPL). It is useful for everybody working in electronic design (schematic diagrams and Printed Board up to 16 layers).

This software (using WXWIDGETS) is MULTI-PLATFORM. It is running under LINUX and Windows (XP or 2000), for which updates are regularly provided. Currently, the precompiled version of Linux has been tested using Mandrake 9.2 or 10.0 (works with 10.1).
Sometime the softwares are also been tested under other O.S., especially FreeBSD and Solaris.

(Source: http://www.lis.inpg.fr/realise_au_lis/kicad/)

EdSim51:The 8051 Simulator for Teachers and Students

Do you want to learn about microcontrollers and embedded systems? Are you studying the 8051 microcontroller? Do you want to test your code for communicating with peripherals without having to first build the hardware? Are you teaching an embedded systems course and would like your students to have access to a virtual 8051 training kit?

If the answer to any or all of the above is true, then you've come to the right place. The EdSim51 Simulator for the popular 8051 microcontroller is exactly the tool you need. And it's FREE!

A virtual 8051 is interfaced with virtual peripherals such as a keypad, motor, display, UART, etc. The student can write 8051 assembly code, step through the code and observe the effects each line has on the internal memory and the external peripherals.

The Virtual Peripherals:

• Analogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC)
• Comparator
• UART
• 4 Multiplexed 7-segment Displays
• 4 X 3 Keypad
• 8 LEDs
• DC Motor
• 8 Switches
• Digital-to-Analogue Converter (DAC) - displayed on oscilloscope

Why EdSim51's Simulator and not some of the many other simulators that are available?
Many of the simulators for the 8051 that you will find are industry-standard. They are used by professional 8051-based embedded udent can learn how to scan a keypad, multiplex 7-segment displays, control a motor asystems designers. While they show the state of the registers, memory and the port pins while code is being debugged, they do not have graphical representations of peripherals that can be used interactively to communicate with the 8051. EdSim51 have filled that need. The stnd count its revolutions, etc.

Download EdSim51 here.

(Source: http://www.edsim51.com)

gEDA Project

What is gEDA?

The gEDA project has produced and continues working on a full GPL'd suite of Electronic Design Automation tools. These tools are used for electrical circuit design, schematic capture, simulation, prototyping, and production. Currently, the gEDA project offers a mature suite of free software applications for electronics design, including schematic capture, attribute management, bill of materials (BOM) generation, netlisting into over 20 netlist formats, analog and digital simulation, and printed circuit board (PCB) layout.

The gEDA project was started because of the lack of free EDA tools for UNIX. The tools are being developed mainly on GNU/Linux machines, but considerable effort is being made to make sure that gEDA runs on other UNIX variants. For a complete list of freely available tools please be sure to visit Open Collector.

Tools that are part of gEDA/gaf (gschem and friends):

• gschem : Schematic Capture (Screenshots)
• gnetlist : Netlist Generator
• gattrib : Attribute Editor (screenshot)
• symbols : Symbol Library
• utils : Utilities
• gsymcheck : Symbol Checker

(Source: http://www.geda.seul.org)