Category Archives: gcc

Semihosting (again!) with NXP Kinetis SDK V2.0

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I kind of hoped that after “Why I don’t like printf()” and all my other articles about printf and semihosting, that topic would be 200% handled and I won’t have to deal with any more. Well, I was wrong and underestimated how the Kinetis SDK is interfering with semihosting. And I underestimated how many of my readers are still using semihosting (even as there are other and better alternatives), so I keep getting questions and requests for help. That’s ok, and I hope I can help :-).

So here is yet again another post about how to turn on semihosting with Eclipse, GNU ARM Embedded and the Kinetis SDK v2.0. This time with the FRDM-K64F board:

FRDM-K64F Board with lwIP running

FRDM-K64F Board

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First steps: ARM Cortex-M7 and FreeRTOS on NXP TWR-KV58F220M

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For a university research project I need a fast microcontroller with lots of RAM and FLASH memory. I have ordered a TWR-KV58F220M board from NXP which arrived yesterday. The special thing is that it has on of these new ARM Cortex-M7F on it:

TWR-KV58F220M Box

TWR-KV58F220M Box

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Tutorial: Blinky with NXP Kinetis SDK V2.0 and Processor Expert

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In “Mother of Components: Processor Expert with NXP Kinetis SDK V2.0 Projects” I presented an approach how to use Processor Expert components with the NXP Kinetis SDK. This article is a tutorial how to create a blinking LED project with that approach, using McuOnEclipse Processor Expert components and the Kinetis SDK V2.0. As board the FRDM-K22F is used:

Blinky on a FRDM-K22F with SDK V2.0 and Processor Expert

Blinky on a FRDM-K22F with SDK V2.0 and Processor Expert

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Build Configurations in Eclipse

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Eclipse based IDE’s have a powerful feature to make ‘variants’ of the same projects: Build Configurations. Build configurations are a powerful thing in Eclipse: they allow me to make ‘variants’ of a project. The project will share the common things, and I can simply tweak things one way or the other for example to produce a ‘release’ or a ‘debug’ binary of my application without duplicate the project.

Build configurations are manged through either the context menu on the project or with the top menu:

Eclipse Project Build Configuration

Eclipse Project Build Configuration

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Mother of Components: Processor Expert with NXP Kinetis SDK V2.0 Projects

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Unfortunately, now the NXP Kinetis SDK V2.0 does not include Processor Expert support (see “First NXP Kinetis SDK Release: SDK V2.0 with Online On-Demand Package Builder“). But at the Lucerne University we are using more than 150 different custom Processor Expert components we would like to use with that new SDK. So how to make them working with the Kinetis SDK V2.0? Using a Processor Expert as “the mother of all components”:

NXP Kinetis SDK V2.0 and Processor Expert Side-by-Side under Eclipse

NXP Kinetis SDK V2.0 and Processor Expert Side-by-Side under Eclipse

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Assembly Files in Eclipse CDT Projects

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My embedded applications are implemented mostly in C, a few in C/C++. But all of them have one or few assembly files included too: Assembly programming is the needed to do low-level things so it is a natural part of a true embedded application. For example I use often an assembly file for the application startup code.

I have run into a nasty Eclipse CDT issue which deals with assembly files projects. Here is a quizz for you: can you spot the problem in my project below?

Startup Assembly Code

Startup Assembly Code

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Changing Heap and Stack Size for NXP Kinetis SDK V2.0 gcc Projects

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With Processor Expert projects it is very easy to change the heap and stack size: There is a setting for this in the Cpu component settings, under the ‘Build options’ tab:

Heap and Stack Size with Processor Expert

Heap and Stack Size with Processor Expert

As there is no Processor Expert in the NXP Kinetis SDK V2.0 (see “First NXP Kinetis SDK Release: SDK V2.0 with Online On-Demand Package Builder“), how to do the same in a SDK V2.0 project?

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Semihosting with Eclipse and the NXP Kinetis SDK V2.0

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The world is changing, and the say is “change is good” :-). In the software and API world, change very often means that a change results into something broken. So I had battled with semihosting working on the NXP Kinetis parts, only to find out that it does not work any more with using the latest version 2.0. The semihosting output e.g. with P&E debug connection remains empty:

No Semihosting output

No Semihosting output

So how to fix this?

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Tutorial: Blinky with the FRDM-KL27Z and Kinetis SDK v2

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I’m using the FRDM-KL25Z in my classes, and that board is very popular: low price (<$15), reasonable features (48 MHz ARM Cortex M0+, 128 KByte of FLASH, 16 KByte of RAM), and many tutorials elsewhere and on McuOnEclipse :-).

For the next (Fall) semester I’m looking for alternative boards, and one is the Freescale (now NXP) FRDM-KL27Z:

FRDM-KL27Z with Box

FRDM-KL27Z with Box

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