❗ This article has been written for the version 4 of µVision. There is an update for version 5 of µVision here: “Using Keil μVision 5 with Processor Expert“

The good thing with using ARM microcontroller is: there are plenty of tool choices. Even myself, I’m using multiple different tool chains. And while I’m heavily using Eclipse, there are non-Eclipse tool chains which have their advantages too.

The cool thing with CodeWarrior is that beside of Eclipse based, it comes with Processor Expert integrated. And I’m using Processor Expert a lot in my projects. But using Processor Expert does not mean I’m limited to CodeWarrior or Eclipse. So I can use CodeRed or IAR as tool chain with it. And this post is about using Processor Expert with the µVision tool chain from Keil/ARM.

Software Downloads

Keil is owned by ARM and of course supports ARM devices :-). Their IDE product is µVision (the current version is µVision4).

Processor Expert is available as ‘standalone’ version (called ‘Driver Suite’) from Freescale. Basically this is a stripped down Eclipse version with Processor Expert in it. It will be used to configure the drivers/components, and then things get imported and compiled by µVision (like IAR).

Keil Application Notes

Keil has several application notes available on www.keil.com/freescale. The Application Note 235 covers Processor Expert.

Software Installation

If not already installed, you need the following tools:

1. The µVision IDE, compiler and debugger, available from http://www.keil.com/download/product/ (MDK-ARM). Current version is V4.71a
2. Processor Expert Driver Suite, available from http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=PE_DRIVER_SUITE ‘Download’ tab. Current version is Microcontrollers Driver Suite V10.2

Processor Expert Driver Suite

First, I’m going to create a new project with Processor Expert. For this I launch eclipse:

If this is the first time, it asks me for a new Eclipse workspace:

The it shows the ‘Welcome’ view, from where I go to the workbench (click on ‘Go to workbench’ icon):

External Tools Configuration

From the workbench, I need to configure µVision as an external tool:

💡 that menu is accessible as well under Run > External Tools.

Next step is to add a new external tool. For this I select the ‘Program’:

and press the ‘New’ button:

This creates a new configuration:

Next I configure the settings:

• Name: just something useful and easy to remember.
• Location: Browse where you have µVision installed and use the µVision executable.
• Working directory: use ${workspace_loc:/${project_path}}
• Arguments: use -i ProjectInfo.xml ${project_name}.uvproj

This configures to launch the µVision executable with the working directory of my (currently selected) project. It uses the -i argument to import a project. The project information are inside the ProjectInfo.xml which is generated by Processor Expert. The last argument is the project name µVision should use for when the .uvproj project does not exist yet.

Press ‘Close’ to return to the workbench.

Creating Processor Expert Project

In the next steps, I’m creating a Processor Expert project for the FRDM-KL25Z board.

To create the project, I use the menu File > New > Processor Expert Project:

I give it a name:

Select the device, then press Next:

Using the current perspective (default):

The next step is important: I need to select the correct compiler to be used (Keil ARM C/C++ Compiler):

Finish, and the project gets created.

Adding Components

Now I can configure my the Processor Expert components, or add my components from GitHub. For my example, I have added a LED and Wait component to have a blinking LED:

Generating Code

To generate the code, I use the ‘Generate Code’ Button:

Processor Expert has now generated the code and created the ProjectInfo.xml file which I can export to Keil to create an MDK project:

Exporting to Keil µVision

To export it to Keil µVision, I launch the external tool I have configured before. As this is the first time, I do not have a launch history :-(. So I first select the project (or the ProcessorExpert.pe file in the project), and then use ‘External Tools Configurations…’ again:

💡 Eclipse has the concept of ‘current selected project’. This is the project (root) folder you have selected in the Project/Project Explorer view. Or it is the project of the currently selected file.

Next, I select the Program I want to run and press ‘Run’:

C:\Freescale\Keil_v4.71a\UV4\UV4.exe
${workspace_loc:/${project_path}}
-i ProjectInfo.xml ${project_name}.uvproj

❗ Note: I need to have project (or ProcessorExpert.pe of that project) selected. Otherwise I get an error “Variable references empty selection: …” as my project variable is not defined:

Now as I have it launched once, it is present in the recent launch list and I can execute it directly with a click:

💡 It is important to have a current project selected. So make sure you select the project folder or the ProcessorExpert.pe file inside the project.

This has created a µVision project based on the ProjectInfo.xml:

Launching µVision from Processor Expert Project

Eclipse is able to launch an application based on the file extension. As the .uvproj file extension is associated with µVision, I can double-click on the .uvproj file inside the Eclipse project explorer view:

💡 In case the .uvproj file is not shown in the project view, use ‘Refresh’ context menu on it or hit the ‘F5’ key.

❗ Note that if I double-click again, it will create another µVision IDE.

Open Project in µVision

And I can load that project from the Keil IDE too. In µVision I use Project > Open Project menu and browse to the .uvproj created in previous step:

Now I have the project loaded:

F7 performs the build of the project:

Changing Components

Whenever I change components (add, remove or change) in Processor Expert I need

1. Generate Code in Processor Expert Driver Suite
2. Run the external tool to import the changed files/settings into µVision (run my Export2uVision)
3. Switch toµVision to confirm to reload the changes:
   

   Confirm to reload changed settings

Debugging the FRDM-KL25Z

Now that I have compiled my application, I want to debug it on the FRDM-KL25Z. µVision does not (seem) to support the P&E OpenSDA, but it has support for CMSIS-DAP (ARM is driving the CMSIS initiative). So I loaded my FRDM-KL25Z with the CMSIS-DAP firmware as described in this post. The debugger settings in µVision have one gotcha:

First I need to set it for CMSIS-DAP Debugger in the Project options:

Next to verify that it is using SWD (and not JTAG) in the settings:

First I thought: that’s it!

However, when I wanted to debug, I had “No ULINK Device found”:

The gotcha is that I missed to set the CMSIS-DAP debugger in the Utilities tab too :-(:

After that, I was able to debug the application on the FRDM-KL25Z:

🙂

Summary

Processor Expert is not limited to CodeWarrior or Eclipse, it can be used as ‘Driver Suite’ with external tools like IAR or Keil. It is not as integrated with Eclipse based solutions, but still it allows to use the power of Processor Expert.

I wish µVision would implement something like in IAR to automatically reload the new files, so this is for sure something which would make µVision+Processor Expert an even better combination.

Happy Keiling 🙂