Cortex M3 Low Cost Board Tools Recommendation Wanted.
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From: John on 28 Feb 2010 11:16 I am looking for a low cost platform for home Cortex M3 development. My main mandatory requirements are: 1. Under $250 total cost. 2. C Demo code exists that will work out of the box. (I see some systems where many bugs need to be overcome to get a simple demo application to work. 3. Out of the box support for C.(Working C-Start / ctr0 that clear and initialises data are required by C, initialises interrupts, and calls main. 4. Uses Thumb2 instruction set. (I understand Cortex M3 uses this set and is easier to use than legacy ARM). 5. No tools code size limitations. (Some evaluation board kits come with code size limits either for build chain or debugger). 6. >= ADC inputs, 8 digital inputs, 8 digital outputs Optional Requirements: 1. C++ support out of the box. 2. Existing support for On-Board peripherals. 3. Out of the box support for RS232 printf. 4. Flash >= 128K 5. RAM >= 32 K (I want to use an RTOS. 4. HW debugger. I realize this is a really touch set of requirements to meet. I am an embedded developer who has focused mostly on embedded applications code (not much BSP). Does anyone have experience with the Olimex STM32-P103 or Olimex STM32-H103. How about OpenOCD and the Olimex debug hardware? John Sotack
From: An Schwob in the USA on 28 Feb 2010 13:15 On Feb 28, 8:16 am, John <jdsot...(a)rochester.rr.com> wrote: > I am looking for a low cost platform for home Cortex M3 development. > My main mandatory requirements are: > > 1. Under $250 total cost. > 2. C Demo code exists that will work out of the box. (I see some > systems where many bugs need to be overcome to get a simple demo > application to work. > 3. Out of the box support for C.(Working C-Start / ctr0 that clear > and initialises data are required by C, initialises interrupts, and > calls main. > 4. Uses Thumb2 instruction set. (I understand Cortex M3 uses this set > and is easier to use than legacy ARM). > 5. No tools code size limitations. (Some evaluation board kits come > with code size limits either for build chain or debugger). > 6. >= ADC inputs, 8 digital inputs, 8 digital outputs > > Optional Requirements: > 1. C++ support out of the box. > 2. Existing support for On-Board peripherals. > 3. Out of the box support for RS232 printf. > 4. Flash >= 128K > 5. RAM >= 32 K (I want to use an RTOS. > 4. HW debugger. > > I realize this is a really touch set of requirements to meet. > > I am an embedded developer who has focused mostly on embedded > applications code (not much BSP). Does anyone have experience with > the Olimex STM32-P103 or Olimex STM32-H103. How about OpenOCD and the > Olimex debug hardware? > > John Sotack Well, all your requirements are actually easy to achieve except for the unlimited compiler. If you would like to have professional tools the unlimited C-Compilers / Debuggers start around $1k and can easily hit the $5 level. My recommendation would be the Primer2 Pro. It is a nice evaluation kit, uses the STM32F103, provides tons of reference Software and the Pro version has no code limitations. You can check it out here: http://mcu-related.com/architectures/35-cortex-m3/59-stm32-primer2-stm32f103e-stm3210e-primer http://mcu-related.com/architectures/35-cortex-m3/58-primer2-a-cortex-m3-gadget-for-stm32f103 http://www.mcu-raisonance.com/~stm32-primer2-professional__microcontrollers__product~product__T017:4d0fwt74d47e.html Has just been awarded with EETIMEs product of the year award http://www.mcu-raisonance.com/primer2-eetimes.html Cheers, An Schwob
From: David Brown on 28 Feb 2010 14:20 An Schwob in the USA wrote: > On Feb 28, 8:16 am, John <jdsot...(a)rochester.rr.com> wrote: >> I am looking for a low cost platform for home Cortex M3 development. >> My main mandatory requirements are: >> >> 1. Under $250 total cost. >> 2. C Demo code exists that will work out of the box. (I see some >> systems where many bugs need to be overcome to get a simple demo >> application to work. >> 3. Out of the box support for C.(Working C-Start / ctr0 that clear >> and initialises data are required by C, initialises interrupts, and >> calls main. >> 4. Uses Thumb2 instruction set. (I understand Cortex M3 uses this set >> and is easier to use than legacy ARM). >> 5. No tools code size limitations. (Some evaluation board kits come >> with code size limits either for build chain or debugger). >> 6. >= ADC inputs, 8 digital inputs, 8 digital outputs >> >> Optional Requirements: >> 1. C++ support out of the box. >> 2. Existing support for On-Board peripherals. >> 3. Out of the box support for RS232 printf. >> 4. Flash >= 128K >> 5. RAM >= 32 K (I want to use an RTOS. >> 4. HW debugger. >> >> I realize this is a really touch set of requirements to meet. >> >> I am an embedded developer who has focused mostly on embedded >> applications code (not much BSP). Does anyone have experience with >> the Olimex STM32-P103 or Olimex STM32-H103. How about OpenOCD and the >> Olimex debug hardware? >> >> John Sotack > > Well, all your requirements are actually easy to achieve except for > the unlimited compiler. If you would like to have professional tools > the unlimited C-Compilers / Debuggers start around $1k and can easily > hit the $5 level. > If you have particular reason to want tools from companies like IAR or Kiel, then they cost in that sort of price range. For some people and some uses, it makes sense and is worth the money. But there are several professional toolsets that use gcc. These are available as either entirely free versions, or as paid-for professional versions with additional libraries, commercial support, ready-to-run setups with (typically) Eclipse and debuggers, etc. CodeSourcery comes at $400 (or more for more libraries and more support) - I'm guessing that Code Red and Rowley are in a similar price class. Still, that's above the $250 you were aiming for - basically, your only sensible choice is CodeSourcery's "Lite" version, which is entirely free. You don't get the editor integration and extra libraries, but there is still more than enough to do the job. For the hardware, I'd recommend looking at TI's Stellaris lines. You can get evaluation kits for $100, and all their libraries and demos fully support CodeSourcery (and Code Red - I'd guess Rowley too).
From: -jg on 28 Feb 2010 18:27 On Mar 1, 5:16 am, John <jdsot...(a)rochester.rr.com> wrote: > I am looking for a low cost platform for home Cortex M3 development. > My main mandatory requirements are: You could check the status of the larger versions of http://ics.nxp.com/lpcxpresso/ NXP say they are coming for all families, but I think LPC11xx and LPC13xx are the only real ones ? Even if the larger ones are delayed, you can get started on the first ones, and they are very low cost. (~$30) -jg
From: Bruno Richard on 1 Mar 2010 12:14
On Feb 28, 5:16 pm, John <jdsot...(a)rochester.rr.com> wrote: > I am looking for a low cost platform for home Cortex M3 development. > My main mandatory requirements are: > > 1. Under $250 total cost. > 2. C Demo code exists that will work out of the box. (I see some > systems where many bugs need to be overcome to get a simple demo > application to work. > 3. Out of the box support for C.(Working C-Start / ctr0 that clear > and initialises data are required by C, initialises interrupts, and > calls main. > 4. Uses Thumb2 instruction set. (I understand Cortex M3 uses this set > and is easier to use than legacy ARM). > 5. No tools code size limitations. (Some evaluation board kits come > with code size limits either for build chain or debugger). > 6. >= ADC inputs, 8 digital inputs, 8 digital outputs > > Optional Requirements: > 1. C++ support out of the box. > 2. Existing support for On-Board peripherals. > 3. Out of the box support for RS232 printf. > 4. Flash >= 128K > 5. RAM >= 32 K (I want to use an RTOS. > 4. HW debugger. > > I realize this is a really touch set of requirements to meet. > > I am an embedded developer who has focused mostly on embedded > applications code (not much BSP). Does anyone have experience with > the Olimex STM32-P103 or Olimex STM32-H103. How about OpenOCD and the > Olimex debug hardware? > > John Sotack Look at the STM32 Primer2 from Raisonance : 59 euros with programmer and LCD included. Bruno |