Category Archives: Eclipse

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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McuOnEclipse Components: 7-Feb-2016 Release

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New in this release:

  • Segger SystemViewer: Upgraded to V2.30, added stack high-water mark
  • Segger RTT: fixed BASEPRI issue on Cortex M4 for critical sections
  • Utility: Fixed issue with Utility module and Kinetis SDK (usage of ‘byte’)
  • USB CDC: property to specify USB device current usage, new status getter functions.
Segger SystemViewer V2.30

Segger SystemViewer V2.30

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Tutorial: Bare-Metal Shell for Kinetis

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I have been asked to provide a command line shell example for a bare-metal (no RTOS) application, so here we go!

Having a way to communicate to the firmware on a board is essential for most of my projects: it is simply, incredibly helpful and easy to do (see “A Shell for the Freedom KL25Z Board“). This tutorial shows how to add a simple command line shell to the NXP Freedom board which then can be extended as necessary.

Console Application

Console Application

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First NXP Kinetis SDK Release: SDK V2.0 with Online On-Demand Package Builder

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There are plenty of different software packages available for microcontroller these days from all the silicon vendors. Finding a good software package is one challenge, getting what I really need is another one. Freescale is now part of NXP since December 2015, so this is probably the first release of the former Freescale part now as NXP: The NXP Kinetis SDK Version 2.0.

It comes with an interesting distribution way: instead of downloading huge packages with all-and-everything in it, I can build it ‘on demand’ online and get what I need, on demand from a web-based front end:

NXP Kinetis Expert with Kinetis SDK

NXP Kinetis Expert with Kinetis SDK

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Show Floating Point Variable Bytes in Eclipse CDT

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My preferred variable format in Eclipse is hexadecimal (see “Debugging Variables in Hexadecimal with Eclipse“). However, this does not work well with floating point variables:

Floating Point Variables in Eclipse Variables View

Floating Point Variables in Eclipse Variables View

The above view shows all variables having the value 0x0 (zero), but that’s actually not really true.

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Debug Multiple Boards with GDB at the Same Time

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Many times it is very useful to debug multiple boards at the same time. For example if I’m debugging a communication stack between two boards: that way I can debug the protocol on both sides. Eclipse is a great framework which allows that. This post shows how to debug multiple boards (e.g. the NXP Freedom boards) in parallel from the same Eclipse IDE using GDB and the Segger J-Link:

Two NXP Freedom Boards debugged at the same time

Two NXP Freedom Boards debugged at the same time

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Hardware Reset for ARM Cortex-M with Segger J-Link and Kinetis Design Studio

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The reset and signal line of a microcontroller is probably the most important signal to a microcontroller. And if things go wrong, then a first thing to check is the reset line. So having control over reset is an important aspect for embedded development. You would think that if you download a program to a microcontroller, the debug probe would put the device into reset at the start with a short pulse like this:

Reset Signal in Logic Analyzer

Reset Signal in Logic Analyzer

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McuOnEclipse Release 10-Jan-2016

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With the start of the new year 2016 I have published a new McuOnEclipse component release with the following major updates:

  1. Updated Segger SystemView and Real Time Transfer (RTT): added terminal functions and extra interfaces
  2. Improved USB CDC with serial number handing
  3. FreeRTOS TaskList shell command
  4. USB Stack: added MSD Host support for MCF52259, added support for K24FN120 and for the 100 MHz K20 devices
  5. New NEOMatrix component for Adafruit NeoPixel Matrix displays

    256 NeoPixel Matrix with FRDM-KL25Z

    256 NeoPixel Matrix with FRDM-KL25Z

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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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