GNU Coverage (gcov) with NXP S32 Design Studio IDE

The open-source GNU tools provide a rich set of tools to help developing software. Some are clearly more for the high-end application development. But many of the tools are applicable for the more restricted embedded software development process as well. One is gcov, or the GNU Coverage Tool. Coverage is essential for the testing phase, as it tells you what part of code have been used and ‘covered’. This article describes how GNU coverage can be added the NXP S32 Design Studio IDE.

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McuOnEclipse Components: 26-Dec-2021 Release

I’m pleased to announce a new release of the McuOnEclipse components, available on SourceForge. This release includes several bug fixes, support for more devices, and updated components like FreeRTOS, MinINI, Percepio Tracealyzer and SEGGER SystemView.

SourceForge

SourceForge

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Configure hidden and internal Shortcuts in Eclipse

A very useful feature in Eclipse is Ctrl+Shift+L which lists all the available shortcuts:

List of Shortcuts

List of Shortcuts

Pressing Ctrl+Shift-L again will open up a dialog where I can configure them. But what if the shortcut or action is not listed there?

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Debugging the Startup Code with Eclipse and GDB

By default, when debugging an embedded application, the target usually stops at main():

stopped in main

stopped in main

That’s usually fine, but what if I want to debug the code out of reset?

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Tutorial: HD44780 Display Driver with NXP MCUXpresso SDK

In the age of high-resolution graphical LCDs using a character display might look like a bit anachronistic. But these displays provide a lot of value for me as they are robust, available in different shapes and number of lines. And such a character display can be a better solution for an industrial application.

hd44780 display with NXP FRDM-KW41Z Board

hd44780 display with NXP FRDM-KW41Z Board

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Tutorial: Git with Eclipse

There are things which are game changer in the world of software development: one such event was when I started using a VCS (Version Control System): it changed for me how I keep and store my projects and settings. It even changed the way how I deal with non-software related items like documents or other valuable things: I started storing them in to a VCS too.

EGit with Eclipse

EGit with Eclipse

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McuOnEclipse Components: 30-Sept-2018 Release

I’m pleased to announce a new release of the McuOnEclipse components, available on SourceForge. This release includes several bug fixes, extra support for the NXP S32 Design Studio and SDK and includes FreeRTOS V10.1.1.

SourceForge

SourceForge

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Updating the S32K144EVB to Switch between 5V and 3.3V Logic Levels

By default, the NXP S32K144EVB and microcontroller is using a 5V supply voltage and logic levels which is great for noisy environment or any 5V devices. Many of my displays and sensors use 3.3V logic levels, so I would have to use a level shifter from 5V to 3.3V. There is another way: to change the board for 3.3V logic levels so I can use directly things like a SSD1306 display.

S32K144EVB with OLED SSD1306 using 3.3V Logic Levels

S32K144EVB with OLED SSD1306 using 3.3V Logic Levels

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Using custom FreeRTOS with S32K SDK and OSIF for ARM

In “Tutorial: FreeRTOS 10.0.1 with NXP S32 Design Studio 2018.R1” I showed how to use a custom FreeRTOS with the S32 Design Studio (ARM). The OSIF (OS Interface) provides an operating system and services abstraction for the application which is used by other S32K SDK components:

OSIF in S32K for ARM Eclipse Project

OSIF in S32K for ARM Eclipse Project

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