Category Archives: Freescale

Getting Started: ROM Bootloader on the NXP FRDM-KL03Z Board

Posted on by
13

A bootloader on a microcontroller is a very useful thing. It allows me to update the firmware in the field if necessary. There are many ways to use and make a bootloader (see “Serial Bootloader for the Freedom Board with Processor Expert“). But such a bootloader needs some space in FLASH, plus it needs to be programmed first on a blank device, so a JTAG programmer is needed. That’s why vendors have started including a ROM bootloader into their devices: the microcontroller comes out of the factory with a bootloader in FLASH. So instead writing my bootloader, I can use the one in the ROM.

FRDM-KL03Z with ROM Bootloader

FRDM-KL03Z with ROM Bootloader

And as with everything, there are pros and cons of that approach.

Continue reading →

Advertisements

McuOnEclipse Components: 09-July-2017 Release

Posted on by
5

I’m pleased to announce that a new release of the McuOnEclipse components is available in SourceForge, with the following major changes and updates:

  • Complete refactoring for 1-Wire stack and DS18B20 temperature sensor components
  • Added HID Joystick device class to the FSL_USB_Stack
  • New SDK_Timer component to work with Kinetis SDK
  • New ST756P LCD driver component
  • New TSL2561 digitial temperature sensor driver
  • Added ReadByte() and WriteByte() GenericI2C functions
  • Added 64bit mapping functions to Utility
  • added configUSE_NEWLIB_REENTRANT and newlib reentrancy support to FreeRTOS
  • Pull resistor support for SDK_BitIO
  • Many smaller bug fixes and enhancements
SourceForge

SourceForge

Continue reading →

Using FreeRTOS with newlib and newlib-nano

Posted on by
Reply

For reliable applications, I avoid using functions of the standard libraries. They are banned for most safety related applications anyway. I do not use or avoid malloc(), printf() and all the other variants, for many reasons including the ones listed in “Why I don’t like printf()“. Instead, I’m using smaller variants (see “XFormat“). Or I’m using only the thread-safe FreeRTOS heap memory allocation which exist for many good reasons.

Things get problematic if malloc() still is pulled in, either because it is used by a middleware (e.g. TCP/IP stack) or if using C++. Dave Nadler posted a detailed article (http://www.nadler.com/embedded/newlibAndFreeRTOS.html) about how to use newlib and newlib-nano with FreeRTOS.

FreeRTOS Newlib Memory Allocation Scheme

FreeRTOS Newlib Memory Allocation Scheme

Continue reading →

GNU Code Coverage on Embedded Target with Eclipse Neon and ARM gcc 5

Posted on by
7

For a research project, we are going to send a satellite with an embedded ARM Cortex microcontroller into space early next year. Naturally, it has to work the first time. As part of all the ESA paperwork, we have to prove that we tested the hardware and software thoroughly. One pice of the that is to collect and give test coverage evidence. And there is no need for expensive tools: Free-of-charge Eclipse and GNU tools can do the job for a space mission 🙂

Eclipse with Coverage Views

Eclipse with Coverage Views

Continue reading →

DIY USB HID Joystick Device and Game Controller

Posted on by
3

For many projects it would be cool to build a custom USB Joystick device, either as custom game controller for Windows or any USB host which can be used with a USB Joystick. Instead buying one, why not build my version? All what I need is a USB capable board, some kind of input (potentiometer, push buttons) and some software, and I have my USB Joystick:

DIY USB HID Joystick Device

DIY USB HID Joystick Device

Continue reading →

MCUXpresso IDE: Terminate and Disconnect a Debug Session

Posted on by
8

Eclipse for C/C++ (CDT) offers two different ways to get out of a debug session: Terminate and Disconnect:

Terminate and Disconnect

Terminate and Disconnect

The terminate and disconnect behaviour is not standardized, and varies between Eclipse distributions and debug connection. This article is about how things are handled in MCUXpresso IDE, and how I can influence the behaviour.

Continue reading →

McuOnEclipse Components: 06-May-2017 Release

Posted on by
20

I’m pleased to announce that a new release of the McuOnEclipse components is available in SourceForge, with the following changes and updates:

  • SEGGER SystemView updated to V2.42
  • More components to work with MCUXpresso SDK: GenericSWSPI, FXO8500 and SimpleEvents
  • SSD1351 display driver supports 128×128 pixel resolution and Adafruit 1.5″ breakout module
  • Extended FreeRTOS debug helper settings
  • GenericI2C: added ReadWordAddress8() and ReadWordAddress8() functions
  • RingBuffer with new Getn() and Update() functions
  • Utility with map(), constrain(), random() and randomSetSeed()
  • XFormat: new xsnprintf(), contributed by Engin Lee
  • OneWire protocol component with Maxim DS18B20 temperature sensor
  • Many smaller bug fixes and enhancements
SourceForge

SourceForge

Continue reading →

Using Eclipse to Program Binary Files to an Embedded Target

Posted on by
4

I’m using Eclipse based IDE’s to develop and debug my embedded applications. This works great, as Eclipse has all the necessary tools to edit, build and debug it. But when it comes just to download/flash a binary to the board, then things are pretty much specific to the tools used. With the advent of the new MCUXpresso IDE, here is how that Eclipse IDE can be used for this.

LinkServer GUI Flash Programmer

LinkServer GUI Flash Programmer

Continue reading →

Tutorial: Secure TLS Communication with MQTT using mbedTLS on top of lwip

Posted on by
7

One of the most important aspects of the ‘IoT’ world is having a secure communication. Running MQTT on lwip (see “MQTT with lwip and NXP FRDM-K64F Board“) is no exception. Despite of the popularity of MQTT and lwip, I have not been able to find an example using a secure TLS connection over raw/native lwip TCP :-(. Could it be that such an example exists, and I have not found it? Or that someone implemented it, but has not published it? Only what I have found on the internet are many others asking for the same kind of thing “running MQTT on lwip with TLS”, but there was no answer? So I have to answer my question, which seems to be a good thing anyway: I can learn new things the hard way :-).

Blockdiagram MQTT Application with TLS using lwip

Block diagram MQTT Application with TLS using lwip

Continue reading →

MCUXpresso IDE: Importing Kinetis Design Studio Projects

Posted on by
40

Many of my currently active projects are using Kinetis Design Studio (KDS) V3.2.0 from NXP (I have published many of my projects on GitHub). Now with the advent of the MCUXpresso IDE (see “MCUXpresso IDE: Unified Eclipse IDE for NXPs ARM Cortex-M Microcontrollers“), I have migrated several projects from KDS to MCUXpresso. This post is about how to easily get KDS projects ported and running in MCUXpresso IDE.

Debugging KDS Project in MCUXpresso IDE

Debugging KDS Project in MCUXpresso IDE

Continue reading →

MCUXpresso IDE: Unified Eclipse IDE for NXPs ARM Cortex-M Microcontrollers

Posted on by
45

There are many mergers going on in the industry, and one of the largest one was in 2016 the integration of Freescale Semiconductor with NXP Semiconductors, with both providing Eclipse based IDE’s to their customer base. Consequently, the company merger triggered a merger of the IDE’s, and last week NXP has released the result: the MCUXpresso IDE.

MCUXpresso IDE

MCUXpresso IDE

Continue reading →

Tutorial: Using Eclipse with NXP MCUXpresso SDK v2 and Processor Expert

Posted on by
22

To me, software and tools are by far more important than the microcontroller. Because the silicon is a ‘one time kind of thing’, where the software has to be maintained and working over a longer time. And at least my software usually needs to be ported to a new device, so portability and available software and tools are critical to me.

The combination of MCUXpresso SDK (formerly Kinetis SDK) and Processor Expert is unfortunately not supported by NXP. But I have found a way to get them work together in a nice way, and this article is about making that combination possible :-).

SDKv2 Project with Processor Expert

SDKv2 Project with Processor Expert which is supposed not to work together

Continue reading →

Embedded World NĂĽrnberg 2017 Impressions: MCUXpresso, Hexiwear, NTAG, LPC800-DIP and Alan Hawse

Posted on by
2

This year I managed to attend the Embedded World in NĂĽrnberg/Germany after missing the 2016 show. And 2017 has been a blast! With more than 1000 exhibitors and >30’000 visitors it was huge! There were too many exciting things, so I just pick a few: NXP demonstrated the new MCUXpresso Software and Tools with a new Eclipse Neon based IDE, lots of IoT and Hexiwear, the tiny LPC800-DIP board, and I have met Alan Hawse in person!

Impresson from the Show (embeddedworld 2017)

Continue reading →

Better FreeRTOS Debugging in Eclipse

Posted on by
16

With debugging FreeRTOS applications in Eclipse, it is a big to have views available showing all the threads, queues, timers and heap memory allocation. One of the best Eclipse plugins are the one NXP provides for FreeRTOS: they are free of charge and give me pretty much everything I need. However, if you are not that familiar with FreeRTOS itself, here are a few tips to get more out of the plugins.

Better FreeRTOS Debugging in Eclipse

Better FreeRTOS Debugging in Eclipse

Continue reading →

McuOnEclipse Components: 12-Mar-2017 Release

Posted on by
36

I’m pleased to announce that a new release of the McuOnEclipse components is available in SourceForge, with the following main features and changes:

  • Wait: Busy-Waiting using ARM DWT cycle counter
  • Percepio FreeRTOS+Trace: Updated to version 3.1.1, simplified usage of streaming and snapshot mode
  • GenericSWI2C: MCUXpresso SDK can be used with the bit-banging I2C driver support
  • FreeRTOS: includes updates of the 9.0.1 release, ‘optimized task selection, enabled MPU support (experimental)
  • Graphical GUI drivers for screens, windows, icons, headers, text widgets and more
  • SSD1351: display driver for Solomon Systech SSD1351 display
  • More components are now supported by the McuLibConfig settings
  • Many other smaller bug fixes and enhancements

Continue reading →

Percepio FreeRTOS Tracealyzer Plugin for Eclipse

Posted on by
7

Good news for everyone using Eclipse, FreeRTOS and Percepio Tracealyzer: Percepio has released an Eclipse plugin which makes snapshot tracing very easy and convenient using the a GNU gdb debugger in Eclipse like Kinetis Design Studio:

Eclipse with Percepio Tracealizer

Eclipse with Percepio Tracealyzer

Continue reading →

P&E ARM Cortex-M Debugging with FreeRTOS Thread Awareness and Real Time Expressions for GDB and Eclipse

Posted on by
19

P&E has a new version of their GDB/Eclipse debug plugins available on their Eclipse update site, and it comes with to great features: Real Time Expressions (show variables while target is running) and  FreeRTOS thread awareness 🙂

FreeRTOS Thread Awareness

FreeRTOS Thread Awareness

Continue reading →

Tips for Making Copy of Eclipse CDT Projects Easier

Posted on by
7

Instead creating a new project from scratch, often it is simpler to copy an existing Eclipse CDT project, then change it and go on.  To copy-past the a project in Eclipse:

  1. Select the project in the Project Explorer View (CTRL-C on Windows)

    Copy of a project

    Copy of a project

  2. Then paste it in the Project Explorer View (CTRL-V on Windows), and I can specify the new name:

    Paste of Project

    Paste of Project

However, to make that process simpler, a few things have to be done right in the ‘source’ project first.

Continue reading →

Cycle Counting on ARM Cortex-M with DWT

Posted on by
8

Some ARM Cortex-M have a DWT (Data Watchpoint and Trace) unit implemented, and it has a nice feature in that unit which counts the execution cycles. The DWT is usually implemented on most Cortex-M3, M4 and M7 devices, including e.g. the NXP Kinetis or LPC devices.

Continue reading →

McuOnEclipse Components: 28-Jan-2017 Release

Posted on by
7

I’m pleased to announce that a new release of the McuOnEclipse components is available in SourceForge, with the following main features and changes:

  • New Sharp Memory Display Driver supporting 96×96 and 128×128 pixel ultra low power display
  • PID_Int can be used without hardware
  • GenericTimeData has added functions to convert date/time into strings
  • HardFault can now disable write buffers on ARM Cortex to simplify debugging faults
  • Folder support for SEGGER SystemView and Percepio FreeRTOS+Trace
  • Component usage without Processor Expert
  • NXP MCUXpresso SDK support for FreeRTOS using tickless idle mode and low power timer
  • Many other smaller bug fixes and enhancements
SourceForge

SourceForge

Continue reading →