SoftConsole v2.0 Release Notes
(Oct 18, 2007)
Thank you for your interest in Actel's SoftConsole v2.0.
- Supports embedded software development and debugging (simulator and hardware-based) targeting both of Actel's ARM processor implementations, Cortex-M1 and CoreMP7 (ARM7TDMI-S).
- No longer requires Java to be separately pre-installed since it now bundles the Java runtime used by the Eclipse IDE
- It is comprised of the following elements:
- Eclipse platform (and Java runtime)
- Eclipse IDE v3.2
- Eclipse CDT (C/C++ Development Tools) v3.1
- Zylin Embedded CDT plug-in v2.0.6
- Sun Java J2SE Runtime v5.0
- CodeSourcery GNU Toolchain for ARM Processors 2007q1-21 release
- GCC v4.2
- GDB v6.6.50
- binutils v2.17
- GNU make v3.81
- Hardware target debug support tools – the following tools sit between GDB and the relevant target processor in order to facilitate hardware-based debugging by translating between GDB Remote Serial Protocol and target processor specific JTAG/debug commands/responses:
- CoreMP7: FS2 In-Target System Analyzer for ARM Processor Cores v1.2.0
- Cortex-M1: CodeSourcery ARM Debug Sprite
Supported Platforms
Microsoft Windows - U.S. Version
- Windows XP (XP Professional only) with SP2
Minimum System Requirements
Microsoft Windows XP
- 1.0 GHz Pentium class processor
- FAT32 or NTFS file system recommended
- 400 MB available on disk
- 128 MB system RAM
- CDROM drive
- HTML browser
- 1024 x 768 video resolution
Software Environment
- SoftConsole v2.0 requires that SoftConsole v1.0 and SoftConsole v1.1 be uninstalled. The installer will not proceed if it detects the presence of a previous version. You can continue to use any SoftConsole projects and workspaces created in previous versions with SoftConsole v2.0.
- SoftConsole requires that the FlashPro programming software and drivers are installed. The installer will check for Libero IDE v7.3 or later or FlashPro v5.0 or later, and will not continue if neither is present. It is recommended that you install the latest versions of the Libero IDE software (which bundles the FlashPro software and drivers) and/or the standalone FlashPro programming software.
The individual licenses for the elements that make up SoftConsole are presented during the installation process for your review.
Quick Start Documentation
- Please refer to the SoftConsole Quick Start Guide for an overview on getting started with SoftConsole. The July 2006 version of this document focuses on using earlier versions of SoftConsole and other tools to target CoreMP7, but the general approach still applies to SoftConsole v2.0 when targeting CoreMP7 or Cortex-M1 with the qualifications that follow.
- When creating a new project in SoftConsole v2.0 using the New Project wizard, you must select the appropriate project type on the Select a type of project page. In SoftConsole v1.x only CoreMP7 was supported using the Embedded Executable (Gnu for arm-eabi) project type. In SoftConsole v2.0 you must choose one of the following:
- for CoreMP7: Embedded Executable (Actel GNU for ARM7)
- for Cortex-M1: Embedded Executable (Actel GNU for Cortex-M1)
- The Quick Start Guide explains how to configure the FS2 In-Target System Analyzer for ARM Processor Cores (cliarm.exe) for CoreMP7 debugging as an External Tool named FlashPro3 On-Chip Debugging for CoreMP7 in Eclipse. The equivalent settings for the CodeSourcery ARM Debug Sprite for Cortex-M1 debugging are:
- Name (for example): FlashPro3 On-Chip Debugging for Cortex-M1
- Location: C:\Program Files\Actel\SoftConsole v2.0.0.13\Sourcery-G++\bin\arm-none-eabi-sprite.exe
- Working directory: C:\Program Files\Actel\SoftConsole v2.0.0.13\Sourcery-G++\bin
- Arguments: -m -l :3000 flashpro: coremp7-cm1
- While the Quick Start Guide explains how to configure processor debug support via External Tools, it is not explicit that you need to manually run the relevant tool before attempting to connect the debugger to a hardware target, for example:
- Run > External Tools > FlashPro3 On-Chip Debugging for CoreMP7
- Run > External Tools > FlashPro3 On-Chip Debugging for Cortex-M1
- The Quick Start Guide outlines how to configure a SoftConsole project for on-chip debugging on hardware. However the following modifications to these instructions should be used:
- For a CoreMP7 target, select the Commands tab and in the Initialize commands text box enter:
target remote :54545
load
tb main
- For a Cortex-M1 target, select the Commands tab and in the Initialize commands text box enter:
target remote :3000
load
- For either CoreMP7 or Cortex-M1, select the Commands tab and in the Run commands text box enter:
cont
- Click Apply
- Make sure that the required debug support External Tool is running
- Click Debug to start a debug session
- In the debugger Run > Resume will run until the default breakpoint at main() is triggered.
Debug tools and desktop firewalls
- Because the debug tools (In-Target System Analyzer for ARM Processor Cores for CoreMP7 debugging and CodeSourcery ARM Debug Sprite for Cortex-M1 debugging) communicate with GDB via a TCP/IP socket connection, any desktop firewall in use will need to be configured to allow such communication. Most desktop firewalls will alert you to the attempt and ask if you want to unblock/allow this communication. Unblock or allow the communication to proceed with debugging.
Managed Make project fails when running Kaspersky Anti-Virus/Internet Security
- If you run Kaspersky Anti-Virus/Internet Security, you may find that Managed Make projects do not build. This happens when Kaspersky incorrectly identifies
C:\Program Files\Actel\SoftConsole v2.0.0.13\Eclipse\plugins\
org.eclipse.cdt.core.win32_3.1.1.200609270800\os\win32\x86\
starter.exe as a threat to the system. To circumvent this problem, you will need to (1) restore starter.exe if Kaspersky has quarantined it, and (2) configure starter.exe as a Trusted Application (in Kaspersky: from the Settings menu, select > Threats and exclusions > Trusted zone > Trusted applications).
CoreConsole project requirements for debugging
- During debugging, SoftConsole communicates with the target Cortex-M1 or CoreMP7 processor through the FlashPro3 JTAG header via the FlashPro3 unit. To enable debugging through the FlashPro3 header, you must appropriately configure the Cortex-M1 or CoreMP7Bridge component in your design. For Cortex-M1 debugging, the Cortex-M1 Debug Interface configurable option must be set to FlashPro3. For CoreMP7 debugging, the CoreMP7Bridge Debug configurable option must be set to RealView or FlashPro3.
- You also need to connect the UJTAG interface of the CoreMP7Bridge or Cortex-M1 to the top level of your design. This is achieved by connecting the UJTAG interface to the Top Level bar in CoreConsole and subsequently routing this interface to the top level module of the overall design, when the CoreConsole generated subsystem is instantiated as a component in a higher level module. There is no need to apply pin assignments to the UJTAG signals as Actel's Designer tool will automatically recognize that the JTAG pins of the device are used for these signals.
Targeting software to hardware
- When targeting a specific Cortex-M1/CoreMP7-based hardware platform, it is recomended to use an appropriate custom lD linker script and/or startup code (CRT0 etc.) tuned to the target. The default versions used in the absence of explicit custom versions may not work for a specific target platform, memory map, etc. For further information on the default CRT0 startup code and linker script see the files in C:\Program Files\Actel\
SoftConsole v2.0.0.13\src and C:\Program Files\Actel\SoftConsole v2.0.0.13\Sourcery-G++\arm-none-eabi\lib\bare-ram.ld
FlashPro3 drivers
- When you first plug the USB cable from the FlashPro3 into the PC (or plug the cable into a port you have not used before), the Found New Hardware Wizard opens, use the fp3b-cyusb.inf file if present (or fp3bload.inf if not) in the Libero IDE (e.g. C:\devtools\Libero_v8.0\FlashPro\Drivers) or FlashPro software (e.g. C:\devtools\FlashPro v6.0 SP1\Drivers) installation. Once the drivers have been installed, the USB cable should be plugged out and in again to ensure a reliable connection to the FlashPro3 for debugging.
- In some cases after uninstalling SoftConsole v1.0 the required FlashPro3 driver will be removed and the relevant USB device will appear with a yellow warning/exclamation mark icon in Device Manager (in Windows: Start > Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager > USB Controllers > FlashPro3 Programmer. To rectify this situation refer to the previous note.
- Please refer to the FlashPro software documentation for more details about managing FlashPro3 device drivers.
Installer
- If ARM Targets or Install for selected targets is selected on the Select Components page of the installer wizard, then none of the checkboxes under SoftConsole IDE can be deselected. If Only install for the Cortex-M1 is selected, then the ARM7 (CoreMP7) option becomes deselected and can be reselected if required. We recommend that you leave the settings at their defaults and install support for all ARM Targets.
Old SoftConsole project migration
- In some cases, when opening projects created with previous versions of SoftConsole v1.0/1.1 projects with SoftConsole v2.0 will require some manual updating to correct tool paths (e.g. debug support External Tool paths etc.).
- SoftConsole v2.0 beta users who have projects that they wish to convert/migrate for use with SoftConsole v2.0 should contact Actel for the utility required to do this.
Single stepping delays
- In some situations single stepping (e.g. single stepping an empty for loop such as for (i = 0; i < 10000; i++) ; at the C code level) can lead to delays in debugger responsiveness without the possibility of "breaking into" the program from Eclipse/GDB (although this is possible using the FS2 In-Target System Analyzer for ARM Processor Cores console interface when debugging CoreMP7 programs).
- If you find that debugger connectivity to the target is unreliable or not possible at all then one way to get back to a working setup is to:
- Power off the target hardware board
- Disconnect the FlashPro3 USB cable
- In Eclipse, terminate the GDB debugging session and the relevant debugger support External Tool
- If necessary, exit Eclipse altogether
- Power on the target hardware board
- Reconnect the FlashPro3 USB cable
- Run Eclipse and start a new debugging session
- SoftConsole is available for FREE to download from the Actel website.
- The SoftConsole Quick Start Guide is an excellent place to start getting an understanding of SoftConsole.
The version of software that you requested is no longer the most current version available. Please download the most recent software update.
If you need this specific version of software, please contact Actel Tech Support:
Email: tech@actel.com
Phone: 1.800.262.1060
