Jul 29
2018

Building libmsp430 for macOS

If you want to use mspdebug to install code on TI MSP430 family chips you will need this library. I used this version and:
  • Boost bug: Changed tr1 to tuple in the line #include <boost/tr1/tuple.hpp> in DatabaseImplementation.h as Boost TR1 was recently and rather abruptly removed;
  • Boost bug: Renamed boost::asio::io_service to boost::asio::io_context in UsbCdcIoChannel.h as this name has changed in a recent version of boost;
  • Boost / homebrew bug: Changed boost_thread to boost_thread-mt in LIBS in the Makefile as Homebrew seemed to use that version;
  • macOS build bug: Removed all the Wl, stuff from the link line in the Makefile as ld does not support it.
However even after this, you will need to source and install a codeless kext so that the device isn't claimed by the HID driver. It's never been particularly pleasant to use Macs for systems development, but it seems to be getting worse again recently as fewer developers care. As a relevant example, the Energia IDE for MSP430s doesn't work out of the box on macOS and hasn't for months. Are Macs losing developer mindshare again, or am I just imagining it?