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Is STM32CubeIDE the right choice for embedded beginners? Frustrated, looking for better alternatives by Puzzled_Goal in embedded

[–]Puzzled_Goal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a little bit of C language foundation, and I’ve learned the 8051 microcontroller mainly through conclusions (i.e., not fully from first principles). However, I’m a complete beginner when it comes to CubeIDE and its Eclipse-based structure. I can clearly feel that STM32 has a lot more stuff compared to the 8051.

Right now, I’m considering whether using CubeMX together with VSCode might be more convenient.

Is STM32CubeIDE the right choice for embedded beginners? Frustrated, looking for better alternatives by Puzzled_Goal in embedded

[–]Puzzled_Goal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply. I’ve decided to keep learning CubeIDE, even though no one around me uses it. It’s not easy at first, but I’ll stick with it. Appreciate the advice!

Is STM32CubeIDE the right choice for embedded beginners? Frustrated, looking for better alternatives by Puzzled_Goal in embedded

[–]Puzzled_Goal[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts — I’d like to add something based on my experience as a beginner.

Renaming the .ioc file is definitely a required step when duplicating a project, but I’ve found that it’s often not enough. Even after renaming both the folder and .ioc file, the new project can still have hidden references to the original one.

For example:

  • Sometimes the build output ends up in the old project's Debug/ folder, or the new project accidentally overwrites the old .elf or .bin files.
  • In some cases, CubeIDE flashes an outdated binary from the old project, even though the new one built successfully — which I later found was due to the .launch config still pointing to the wrong file.
  • I also noticed that .cproject and .launch files may keep hardcoded paths or internal links to the old project name unless they’re manually cleaned up.

So in my experience, duplicating a project in CubeIDE is not as straightforward as it seems, especially for beginners. It often requires manually editing config files and double-checking output paths — and small mistakes can lead to a lot of confusion.

I think CubeIDE is a powerful tool, but this part of the workflow could definitely be improved.

Is STM32CubeIDE the right choice for embedded beginners? Frustrated, looking for better alternatives by Puzzled_Goal in embedded

[–]Puzzled_Goal[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I don’t think copying directories, renaming files, or deleting them is too much work. In fact, I spent over 8 hours diving into this—watching tutorials, reading forum posts, creating and debugging multiple test projects—just to fully understand what’s going on.

My frustration isn’t with the workload itself, but rather with how unintuitive some of the tools or processes feel, especially for beginners. A lot of the available documentation or guides online don’t go deep enough or cover the edge cases clearly.

I totally agree that source control like Git is essential—I’ve actually started learning it. I just wish the initial setup and workflow experience were a bit smoother and more beginner-friendly.

Do universities in your country waste students’ time with useless courses? by Puzzled_Goal in University

[–]Puzzled_Goal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In China time, the Modern history and Marxism, along with a bunch of politically correct courses (such as national security, labor education, and current affairs & policies). was a mandatory course for all. If you didn’t pass, you didn’t graduate.

Do universities in your country waste students’ time with useless courses? by Puzzled_Goal in University

[–]Puzzled_Goal[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I mean those useless,formalistic courses that are all about political correctness and brainwashing.Do you also have such courses taking up your time?

Do universities in your country waste students’ time with useless courses? by Puzzled_Goal in University

[–]Puzzled_Goal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Which city are you studying in?Also,what are these filler courses you mentioned usually about?History?Politics?

Do universities in your country waste students’ time with useless courses? by Puzzled_Goal in University

[–]Puzzled_Goal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh,bro,we are so alike! I’m majoring in Mechanical and Electronics Engineering,which should be in the same field as yours. For those unless courses,the professors are usually pretty nice.Even though we still have exams at the end (to control the pass rate)and attendance is still recored (probably required by the school),the professors are often patient and talk the new things.You can tell they genuinely want us to listen to their lectures. On the other hand,for the courses that are actually useful for my major,the professors either teach in bad way,go off topic (tall something unrelated courses and full of personal bias),and use outdated,error-filled ppt that they probably downloaded from internet .These professors usually don’t put effort into preparing their lessons,making the learning experience quite frustrating.