9.1. General¶

9.1.1. Is Code Composer Studio™ based on VS Code?¶

Starting with version 20.0.0, Code Composer Studio™ leverages the Theia IDE open source software framework. Theia IDE is very similar to Visual Studio (VS) Code but there are some differences.

9.1.2. What are the differences between the Theia IDE and VS Code?¶

See: https://eclipsesource.com/blogs/2024/07/12/vs-code-vs-theia-ide/

9.1.3. What happened to Code Composer Studio Theia and how is it different from Code Composer Studio 20.x?¶

Please see FAQ #7 of: https://software-dl.ti.com/ccs/esd/CCSv20/#faq/

9.1.4. Is my device supported by the new Theia IDE based Code Composer Studio?¶

The new Theia IDE based Code Composer Studio will support most of the devices supported by Code Composer Studio 12.x with the exception of the below device families:

C55x
CC32xx

9.1.5. Which operating systems are supported by Code Composer Studio?¶

Please see the related section in the Overview chapter.

9.1.6. Why do I need to avoid non-alphanumeric (unicode) characters in my paths?¶

Paths with non-alphanumeric characters can potentially cause various project management and build issues.

Examples of non-alphanumeric characters are &, !, (, #, etc. It is recommended to avoid such characters in project names, source/header files/folders, Code Composer Studio workspace folder names, system temp folder, etc. One exception is the underscore character _, which is normally accepted. A space/whitespace character, while acceptable in most cases, can potentially cause some issues with project builds and the GUI Composer runtime. Hence it is recommended to also avoid it.

Note that many Code Composer Studio files are cached in the user's home folder. The default workspace location is also in the home folder. If the user's username has non-alphanumeric or whitespace characters, then this would cause issues since the path to the user's home folder is often a folder named the same as the username.

9.1.7. What is the best way to look up a bug?¶

Visit the TI Bug and Enhancement System. Enter the bug ID in the search box on the upper right. If the search fails, please surround the bug ID with "quotes" and try again.

9.1.8. Where can I get more information on Code Composer Studio?¶

All users are recommended to explore the Code Composer Studio Academy for additional information.

9.2. Installation¶

9.2.1. Can I install multiple versions of Code Composer Studio on my computer?¶

Yes. Multiple versions of Code Composer Studio can be installed on the same machine as long as they are installed in different directories.

9.3. Licensing¶

9.3.1. What is the licensing policy for Code Composer Studio?¶

There is no license fee associated with Code Composer Studio. Users are free to download and install Code Composer Studio without having to purchase a license.

For more details on the license, please refer to Licensing chapter.

9.4. Updates¶

9.4.1. How do I get updates to Code Composer Studio?¶

Please refer to the Updating Code Composer Studio section.

9.5. General IDE¶

9.5.1. How do I use the themes I installed as an extension?¶

Only the two default themes (Light (Theia) and Dark (Theia)) are supported by Code Composer Studio. While you will be able to install additional themes, you will not be able to select/use them.

9.5.2. I want to restart Code Composer Studio with a fresh environment. How do I do this?¶

Code Composer Studio caches many files in the user's home folder. To clear these caches. delete:

Windows:

[USER HOME]\AppData\Local\Texas Instruments\CCS\.ccs-server
[USER HOME]\AppData\Local\Texas Instruments\CCS\[CCS INSTALL FOLDER NAME]

Linux:

[USER HOME]/.config/Texas Instruments/CCS/.ccs-server
[USER HOME]/.config/Local/Texas Instruments/CCS/[CCS INSTALL FOLDER NAME]

Clearing these caches can also be helpful to resolve instability issues with the IDE.

Note that the default workspace folder workspace_ccstheia can also be found in the user's home folder. The workspace folder contains the projects imported to workspace in addition to the .theia/launch.json and .theia/settings.json file for the workspace. Deleting this folder would delete the projects contained within, hence you may want to back up your projects first. Another option is to just delete the .theia folder inside the workspace folder.

9.6. Projects¶

9.6.1. How do I create a new project from scratch?¶

Please refer to the _creating_new_project section.

9.6.2. During project build, a ccsLinker.opt file sometimes gets passed to the linker instead of the list of object files. What is this file and when is it used?¶

The ccsLinker.opt file is generated by Code Composer Studio and passed to the linker if the list of linker options and input files on the linker command line exceeds the maximum command line length of the host operating system. A project with a large number of object files (.obj) may pass the linker options and input files to the linker via the ccsLinker.opt file rather than directly on the command line.

9.6.3. How can I resolve build error #10234-D: unresolved symbols remain?¶

This article contains more information about the error and how to resolve it.

In summary, the error is generated by the linker when it is unable to find the definition for the symbol. This typically happens if an object file or library containing the definition for the symbol was not provided to the linker. The build output in the CCS build console should provide information on which object files and libraries are passed to the linker.

To resolve the error, locate the source file or library that contains the definition for the symbol and make sure that it is part of the project.

9.6.4. The Eclipse WORKSPACE_LOC variable is not pointing to my workspace. How do I resolve this?¶

WORKSPACE_LOC points to the default .metadata location (ex on Windows: [USER HOME]\AppData\Local\Texas Instruments\CCS\.ccs-server\workspace) and not the folder that contains your projects (ex. workspace_ccstheia). Note that while this is the case in CCS Theia, CCS Eclipse worked differently in that both .metadata and project folders typically resided in the same "workspace" folder. This difference is important to keep in mind when importing CCS Eclipse projects to CCS Theia since some CCS Eclipse projects will use WORKSPACE_LOC with the expectation that it is pointing to the root folder location of the CCS projects copied to the workspace folder.

9.7. Debug¶

9.7.1. Why are my breakpoints greyed out even though they are enabled?¶

If a breakpoint appears as greyed out in the Breakpoints View, this indicates that the the debugger set the breakpoint but was unable to activate it. This is commonly due to a lack of hardware breakpoint resources. To confirm this, hover over the checkbox for the breakpoint and check to see if a pop-up message such as the one below appears:

9.7.2. Why can't I source step?¶

If you are unable to source step, check the Debug Output View to see if error messages such as the below appear:

Breakpoint Manager: There are not enough resources available
Breakpoint Manager: _JobHardwareBreakpoint::ARM_DEBUG_V6M_bpu_add_breakpoint: FPB : All resources are in use.[22062]

If so, then the reason why source stepping is not working is because many source stepping operations require a hardware breakpoint resource and there are no more available resources. Please disable/remove some existing breakpoints or disable other tools that may be using a breakpoint like the Profile Clock.

9.7.3. How do I access the debugger/flash properties when in a debug session?¶

See: Debug Properties.

9.7.4. Which scripting solution (legacy or new) should I use?¶

A new scripting solution (CCS Scripting) is available with CCS Theia 1.1+. Both the legacy (DSS) and new scripting (CCS Scripting) solution is available for use. New users have the option to use either. CCS Scripting currently supports a subset of the functionality provided by DSS. However, this will change in future Code Composer Studio releases as more functionality is added. If the current functionality of CCS Scripting is adequate for your needs, then it is recommended to use it. If not, DSS is still available. Please note that DSS is being deprecated in support.

9.7.6. Why isn't printf working when running code in Code Composer Studio?¶

Two common errors are running out of heap, and running out of stack. For other errors that cause printf to fail, and how to address them, please see the article Tips For Using Printf.

9.7.7. Why does the debugger switch to the other CPU after I load a program?¶

There is a known issue with some multi-core environments where loading a program may cause the debugger to automatically select another CPU after program has been loaded. e.g. if a program has been loaded on CPU1, then Code Composer Studio may select and activate CPU2. This will be fixed in a future release of Code Composer Studio.