Category Archives: Building

About build tools, make files, compiling and linking.

XML Editor & Checker for CMSIS-Pack in Eclipse

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So far, the XML files I had to work on were very simple ones, so a normal text editor was fine. Now I’m tapping into the world of CMSIS-Packs (see “Are ARM CMSIS-Pack the Future of Software Components?“). And definitely this adds a complexity for which I better use some XML editing and checking tools. The ARM tutorial for CMSIS recommends either Notepad++ or Visual C++. But hey, Eclipse should be able to do that maybe even better right? So this is about adding an XML editor and XML checker to Eclipse.

Editing CMSIS-Pack .pdsc File in Eclipse

Editing CMSIS-Pack .pdsc File in Eclipse

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Are ARM CMSIS-Pack the Future of Software Components?

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I’m using Processor Expert components for nearly every Freescale (now NXP) projects: for S08, S12, ColdFire, DSC and especially all the different NXP Kinetis devices. Not only because it makes software development fast and easy and allows re-use of software, but as well because Processor Expert has a good way to pack and distribute software components. Unfortunately Processor Expert is not any more included for the new Kinetis devices (see “First NXP Kinetis SDK Release: SDK V2.0 with Online On-Demand Package Builder“). So I have looked into an alternative and hopefully vendor neutral way to build and distribute software packages using CMSIS-Pack.

CMSIS-PACK in Eclipse

CMSIS-Pack in Eclipse

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3D Printed Magical MUFG Capsule to Duplicate NXP Kinetis K20 Boards

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Sometimes it is all about doing fun stuff: to carry and store the tinyK20 (NXP/Freescale Kinetis K20) boards needed for next course, I wanted to build something geeky: a MUFG capsule to store and duplicate Kinetis boards 🙂

MUFG Capsule with tinyK20

MUFG Capsule with tinyK20

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How to Add Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Connection to ARM Cortex-M

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In many of my embedded projects I’m using successfully the Nordic Semiconductor nRF24L01+ (see “Tutorial: Nordic Semiconductor nRF24L01+ with the Freescale FRDM-K64F Board“) and the HC-06 Bluetooth transceivers (see “Getting Bluetooth Working with JY-MCU BT_BOARD V1.06“) for wireless communication. However, the nRF24L01+ is using a proprietary protocol, and the HC-06 does not work with Apple products (it does very well with Android devices). To close that gap I decided to add Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE, or Bluetooth 4.x). So this post is about how to add Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to NXP (formerly Freescale) Kinetis devices:

BLE Enabled Kinetis

BLE Enabled Kinetis

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Renaming Eclipse CDT Projects

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When I create a project in Eclipse (e.g. in Kinetis Design Studio with the GNU ARM Eclipse plugins), I have to specify the name of the project during creation time:

Project Name in Eclipse

Project Name in Eclipse

But what if I change my mind later on and want to use a different name? How to rename the project?

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Preprocessor Listing for GNU gcc with GNU ARM Eclipse Plugins

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In case there are problems with the C/C++ preprocessor, it is useful to generate the compiler preprocessor listing. Here is how to create a preprocessor listing with GNU gcc compiler and the GNU ARM Eclipse plugins in Eclipse:

Preprocessor Listing in Eclipse

Preprocessor Listing in Eclipse

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GNU gcc printf() and BuiltIn Optimizations

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Readers of my blog know: I’m not a fan of printf(), and I think for many good reasons. Still printf() is widely used, and the GNU gcc tries to optimize things. This is observed with a simple example: If I’m writing

printf("a");

Then the code produced (ARM Cortex-M0+ with GNU ARM Embedded 4.9 2015q2 gives:

movs r0, #97    ; 0x61
bl 0xa98

Instead of calling printf(), it is calling putchar()! Why is that?

PutChar instead of Printf

PutChar instead of Printf

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Segger SystemView: Realtime Analysis and Visualization for FreeRTOS

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One of the most important aspects for developing complex realtime applications is get insights into what is going on the target. Segger just has released a free tool which gives an incredible useful insight view and visualization:

Segger System View for FreeRTOS

Segger System View for FreeRTOS

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