Customer:
I’m working on a low-power project and Inkplate 5 with the ESP32 is ideal for it. My computer is an 8-core i7 with 24GB RAM, so it’s not a slow machine. However, every time the whole library is compiled, it takes 30 minutes, and re-compiles are still very slow. I’ve discovered the compiler is performing many deep searches repeatedly, consuming a lot of processing time. Pre-compiled libraries would help significantly with development time.
Originally submitted via email support on 9 March 2024. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.
Soldered Support:
On a regular ThinkPad with an i5, compilation takes about 4 minutes for the first time and around 1 minute after that without library changes. 30 minutes on such a powerful machine suggests a compiler issue, possibly related to deep searching. Check your local settings or try a different IDE - we use Arduino IDE for VSCode and Arduino legacy 1.8. One possibility is a special character or space in your user folder’s name. We are currently working on restructuring the Inkplate library to have large parts pre-compiled, similar to how the Arduino core works. The timing is uncertain as it will also be used for a new product still in development.
Customer:
Following your advice, I disabled Deep Search and found the compiler now fails with a missing SPI.h error, but it completes much faster. Deep Search was clearly responsible for most of the compilation time. I’ll continue using this workaround and wait for the new version.
Soldered Support:
It’s unusual that SPI.h is missing since it’s part of the board definition and included in Arduino. Arduino sometimes has quirks that make it more difficult to use, but it remains our preferred solution for consumer-friendly maker projects. Your feedback will be passed to the colleague currently working on the pre-compiled library.