Updating CCSv6

Overview

Code Composer Studio v6 uses the Eclipse update manager to check for updates. This allows you to check for updates to Code Composer Studio, third party emulation drivers as well as updates to other Eclipse plug-in packages that you have installed. You are also able to target specific plug-ins or updates for installation as well as directly access the Eclipse Marketplace.

Update process

Automatic

By default CCS automatically checks for updates when it starts up, therefore very little is required other than selecting the correct packages and following the on-screen instructions.

These settings can be changed via the Preferences dialog by going to Windows --> Preferences --> Install/Update --> Automatic Updates. Note that you must have Automatically find new updates and notify me selected.

Manual

You can also manually check for updates, which is useful if you recently added a update site, repository or simply disabled the Automatic verification and prefers doing it at your own convenience.

Go to menu Help --> Check for Updates. This will parse all the pre-configured update sites at the section Managing Update Sites/Server section below and bring up a list of available updates. This list is very similar to what is shown when using the Automatic update process shown above.

Alternatively, a specific plug-in or update site can be selected by going to menu Help --> Install New Software. See below for additional details.

Note: This method is highly recommended if you have a slow internet connection and/or knows which updates you are interested.

Installing new software

Installing new software is the way CCS and Eclipse define a feature or capability that is not yet currently installed. This feature or capability can be a new major version stream of the compiler (5.x if you only have 4.x installed, for example)

Note: if you need to install an entire new feature such as a new device family that was not selected during initial install, or a new JTAG debugger family or manufacturer, check the Installing an entirely new feature section below.

To access this functionality, simply go to menu Help --> Install New Software and the screen below is shown.

This screen has several fields and options: The Work with: drop-down selection refers to which configured update site is selected. Whatever is shown in this list is directly related to the update sites configured in CCS, as shown in the Managing Update Sites/Servers section below.

Note: this drop-down menu allows you to also select All Available Sites.

Once an update site is selected, the box is populated with the software and versions available.

At this point, you can check the box of one or more releases, click the button Next and follow the install instructions.

Note: sometimes the software being installed may fail due to reasons like permissions (more common in Linux) or incompatibility between the existing CCS release and the software to be installed (more common if using older CCS releases). In all cases, read carefully the error message to solve the issue.

The checkboxes at the bottom help filter out what is displayed in this box.

• Show only the latest versions of available software is somewhat self-explainable. The list will only contain the latest releases of the chosen package.

Note: in the case of compiler tools, it will show the latest minor releases of all the major streams. As an example, if this box is unchecked the result shows all streams of 5.2.x (5.2.0 is the only one available) and all streams of 5.1.x (5.1.9, 5.1.8, etc.):

• Hide items that are already installed is also self-explainable. If an update site does not have anything newer than what is already installed, it displays a nice message.

Unchecking this option shows the feature but with a greyed out icon to indicate it is already installed.

• Show only software applicable to target environment is used when an update site has both Windows and Linux software at the same link. Nowadays most of the CCS features use different links per OS. One exception is shown below:

• Group items by category shows the items in a tree organization. Unchecking this will show a one-level list of all the updates.

• Contact all update sites during install to find required software is required if a feature depends on others. Most of the CCS features are self contained, therefore this options is not commonly used.

At last the icons next to the selected features are important:

• The grey icon indicates a feature is already installed and up-to-date
• The cycling icon indicates a feature is already installed but a new release is available
• The plug icon indicates a feature is not yet installed.

Installing an entirely new feature

If you need to install an entirely new feature or add a component to an existing CCS installation, such as adding support for a new processor family that was not previously installed or adding a new JTAG debugger family or manufacturer, you will have to run the CCS installer again.

Some instances where this may be necessary:

• If you see a message such as below when building an imported CCS project or creating a new project.
  "This project was created for a device that is not currently recognized: Cortex M.CC2538. Please go to CCS App Center to install the device descriptor, or migrate the project to the closest match from the supported devices by adjusting project properties."
  In this case, re-run the CCS installer, choose the installation location to be the same as where your current CCS is installed, and select the Product families for which you wish to add support.
  
• If you wish to use a Spectrum Digital or Blackhawk debug probe, but do not find them listed when you try to create the target configuration file.
  In this case, re-run the CCS installer, choose the installation location to be the same as where your current CCS is installed, and select the Debug Probes for which you wish to add support.

Check the Youtube quick tip below for details.

Proxy Configuration

If your computer resides behind a firewall you may have to setup the proxy information so that CCS can get to our Eclipse update site. By default CCS uses the proxy configurations set by the operating system, but sometimes this may need to be set manually.

• To setup the proxy settings go to Windows --> Preferences --> General --> Network Connections. At this screen there are three proxy options:
  • Direct. Bypasses any proxy configurations set by the operating system and connects directly to the internet.
  • Native. Uses the proxy configurations set by the operating system.
  • Manual. Bypasses any proxy configurations set by the operating system and uses the settings at the bottom of this dialog.

For the Manual option:

• In the box Proxy entries fill in the proxy settings of your network. You may need to contact your system administrator to gather that information.
• In the box Proxy bypass fill in the hosts that do not need a proxy to be accessed. Basically any host on the company's intranet, for example.

Under certain circumstances the settings above may not be working correctly. In this case, you can edit the file <ccstudio.ini> at /ccsv6/eclipse (/ccsv6/eclipse/Eclipse.app/Contents/Eclipse for MacOS) and add the following entries immediately after the first line:

-Dhttp.proxyHost=192.168.1.1
-Dhttp.proxyPort=8080
-Dhttp.proxyUser=mydomain\myusername
-Dhttp.proxyPassword=mypassword
-Dhttp.nonProxyHosts=localhost|127.0.0.1

Notes:

• Replace 192.168.1.1 with the correct IP address of your proxy server
• Replace 8080 with the correct TCP port of your proxy server
• (optional) Replace mydomain/myusername with the correct proxy credentials
• (optional) Replace mypassword with the proxy server password
• (optional) In the entry Dhttp.nonProxyHosts, you can add as many entries or domains (.ti.com) as you need, provided they are separated by the or operand (the vertical bar |)

Managing Update Sites/Servers

CCS allows you to manage the sites/servers/repositories searched during a manual or automatic update. This allows you to both add sites of your choosing, as well as remove repositories that have become unavailable or are simply not necessary.

• To have access to the update site manager, go to menu Windows --> Preferences --> Install/Update --> Available Software Sites.

• To add an update site, click on the button Add. The dialog below will be shown:

• At this point three actions can be done, depending on the type and location of the update site: either a server on the internet (the most common), a local directory that contains a patch or a repository or a .zip or .jar file that contains a patch or repository.
  • To add a server on the internet, provide both an arbitrary (but relevant) name and the internet address of the server that hosts the online repository. This is the most common way to add new repositories provided either by TI or by other third parties.
  • To add a patch or a local repository, check the next section.

• The list of buttons on the right side of the Available Software Sites contains other important options:
  • Edit: allows editing an existing update site. The procedure is identical as adding an update site.
  • Remove: removes an update site and all the information. This cannot be undone.
  • Reload: reloads the information from the update site. For remote sites (servers on the internet), an internet connection is required.
  • Disable or Enable: disables or enables an entry. This is useful to remove or add update sites with the chance of undoing the changes.
  • Import: imports a list of update sites in XML format. Useful in some instances where CCS loses its update site information, as shown here.
  • Export: the opposite of import.

• Once all this is done, go back to the Manual section above to select and install the newly configured update site.

Installing Patch Downloads

If you downloaded a patch provided on a .zip or .jar file, or have a directory in your system that contains a local repository, then the procedure is very similar as shown in the previous section.

• Similarly as before, to have access to the update site manager, go to menu Windows --> Preferences --> Install/Update --> Available Software Sites.

• Click on the button Add. The dialog below will be shown:

• At this point three actions can be done, depending on the type and location of the update site: either a server on the internet (the most common), a local directory that contains a patch or a repository or a .zip or .jar file that contains a patch or repository.
  • To add a server on the internet, check the previous section.
  • To add a local repository, type an arbitrary (but relevant) name on the box Name. Click on the button Local and browse to the directory where the local repository is placed. To be properly recognized as a repository, this directory usually has subdirectories named binary, features and plugins.
  • To add a patch, click on the button Archive and browse to the .zip or .jar file downloaded from the internet. Similarly as above, to be properly recognized as a patch, the .zip or .jar file usually has subdirectories named binary, features and plugins.

• Once all this is done, go back to the Manual section above to select and install the newly configured repository or patch.

Uninstalling components

Certain components can be uninstalled from within CCS, especially in case an installation went wrong or if a previous version is required instead.

IMPORTANT! Certain core components such as DVT, Debug Server, IDE and most of Eclipse and CDT components (everything that has and ID that starts with org.eclipse) are critical for the operation of CCS and will render it unusable if uninstalled. In other words, you must know what you are doing.

• To uninstall a component, from inside CCS go to menu Help --> About Code Composer Studio and click on the button Installation details. The screen below will be shown.

• At this point, simply select the component and click on the button Uninstall.... CCS will display a confirmation screen and perhaps some additional instructions.

Manual deletion of components

IMPORTANT! Manual deletion of files must be done with extreme care to not disrupt the current CCS install.

In case this procedure does not work or somehow the dependencies are not fully deleted with lingering files in your install, manual deletion of the features may be necessary. Please check this forum post that shows an example on how to do this.

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