Modifying the existing Arduino IDE

In order to implement the changes for the XMega for Arduino project, you will need to modify the Arduino IDE.

Typically this will be stored in '/usr/local/arduino' or '/usr/share/arduino' for operating systems like FreeBSD and Linux.

For Windows, it is typically stored in "C:\Program Files\Arduino" (or, if you hate 'spaces in file names' like me, you put it into "C:\Arduino").

The Arduino consists of some specific directories that contain information about the various board types, the 'core' code for these, and the 'variant' code that applies to specific 'variants'. The XMega for Arduino project adds the 'xmega' core and several variants for the various processors.

The Arduino IDE directory structure

BASE: /usr/local/arduino or /usr/share/arduino
    (On windows, typically C:\Program Files\Arduino)

--  hardware/arduino  -  contains 'boards.txt'
   +-----  cores
            +-----  arduino  -  built-in
            +-----  robot    -  built-in
            +-----  xmega    -  added (symlink or copy)
   +-----  variants
            +-----  arduino  -  built-in
            +-----  mega     -  built-in
              etc.
            +-----  xmega64d4   -  added (symlink or copy)
            +-----  xmega32e5   -  added (symlink or copy)
            +-----  xmega128a1  -  added (symlink or copy)
              etc.

In the case of the 'avrdude.conf' file, it is typically in /usr/local/etc or /usr/etc depending on your OS. For Windows, it will be in the 'hardware/tools/avr/etc' directory (on non-windows OSs the 'hardware/tools/avr' directory is typically a symbolic link to /usr or /usr/local depending on where avrdude stores the avrdude.conf file).

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Basic Modification Procedure (summarized)

• Download 'XMega For Arduino' source
• Apply 'patch.boards.txt' and the appropriate 'patch.avrdudeXXX.conf'
  (Optionally you can manually modify these files)
• Create symbolic links for (or copy, on windows) the 'cores' and 'variants' trees from 'XMega For Arduino'
• Apply patches for compilers and tools (including 'avrdude') as needed
  NOTE: this may require some significant effort on your part
• Re-start the Arduino IDE. New board types should now be visible (and fully supported)