I am really getting frustrated by the fact that the development tools for just about every embedded platform are Windows only. No Linux support, and most certainly no support for OSX. (The same thing applies to amateur radio software, but that is a rant for a different post)
Writing and compiling the code isn't (usually) the problem—GCC and SDCC are both well supported on Linux and OSX, and between the two I can write code for nearly every architecture I would ever need to. The problem I'm talking about is support for devices like programmers and debuggers—devices necessary for actually getting the code onto the chip I'm trying to develop for.
Nothing quite dampens my enthusiasm for a platform like having to fire-up VMWare to upload new code or debug a problem. For example, I recently picked up an STM32F4-Discovery board from ST Microelectronics, which is a development board for their nice 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 STM32F4 microcontrollers. The board has two USB ports: one connected directly to the STM32F4 microcontroller, and the other dedicated for in-circuit programming. What software do you use to program this lovely demo board? The ST-Link software. What is the only platform it runs on? Windows.
What a waste of time.
I understand that development resources are limited for things like this, and that these companies want to target the platform that they perceive is used by the majority of their customers. However times are changing.
The thing is, the majority of my frustration could be relieved by manufacturers doing one simple thing: document the USB protocols for their programmers and debuggers. If I had this, I could write the programs necessary to program and debug their platforms on Linux (or OSX) myself.
I found this situation so frustrating that I was actually considering snooping the USB traffic of these devices so I could reverse engineer the protocol. I've since realized that there are much more interesting things that I could be doing with my limited free time. If the manufacturer can't even take the simple step of documenting their protocol then their platform just isn't worth my time.
Hey, TI and ST: If you are listening, please make an effort to at least document the USB protocol that your USB-based programmers and debuggers are using. If you could do that, then people like me will fill in the gaps in your development environment for you. Sounds like a good deal, no?