Adding Kinetis boards

Adding Kinetis boards

[Tomas Frydrych]

Hi,

I am looking at adding the Kwikstik to the current Kinetis boards, and I
am wondering what would be the best way to approach this.

Currently there are two Kinetis boards, the TWR-K40X256 and TWR-K60N512,
with the directory structure something like this:

kinetis/var/...     - Generic Kinetis code
kinetis/twr_k40x256 - K40 and twr-k40 code
kinetis/twr_k60x256 - K60 and twr-k60 code

Kwikstik is based on the same MCU as the twr-k40x256, so it needs the
same MCU-specific code as the twr-k40x256 board, which I think is all,
or nearly all of the code currently under the twr_k40x256 directory.

I initially thought I'd just clone twr_k40x256 into a new kwikstik
directory, but that's probably not the best approach for
maintainability. I am thinking it might be better to split out the
generic K40 code so it can be shared between distinct boards, but I am
not sure where to split this to: should there be a separate k40x256
subdirectory and a corresponding package that the twr_k40x256 requires?
Or is there a better way of approaching this altogether?

Many thanks in advance,

Tomas

Re: Adding Kinetis boards

[Ilija Kocho]

Hi Tomas

It may be just enough to add a new target entry in ecos.db.
I am not familiar with Kwikstik I only know that it is based on same
chip as TWR-K40. Can you please point the differences between boards
with respect to: HAL, devices, etc.

Ilija

On 15.12.2011 17:57, Tomas Frydrych wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am looking at adding the Kwikstik to the current Kinetis boards, and I
> am wondering what would be the best way to approach this.
>
> Currently there are two Kinetis boards, the TWR-K40X256 and TWR-K60N512,
> with the directory structure something like this:
>
> kinetis/var/...     - Generic Kinetis code
> kinetis/twr_k40x256 - K40 and twr-k40 code
> kinetis/twr_k60x256 - K60 and twr-k60 code
>
> Kwikstik is based on the same MCU as the twr-k40x256, so it needs the
> same MCU-specific code as the twr-k40x256 board, which I think is all,
> or nearly all of the code currently under the twr_k40x256 directory.
>
> I initially thought I'd just clone twr_k40x256 into a new kwikstik
> directory, but that's probably not the best approach for
> maintainability. I am thinking it might be better to split out the
> generic K40 code so it can be shared between distinct boards, but I am
> not sure where to split this to: should there be a separate k40x256
> subdirectory and a corresponding package that the twr_k40x256 requires?
> Or is there a better way of approaching this altogether?
>
> Many thanks in advance,
>
> Tomas
>
>

Re: Adding Kinetis boards

[Tomas Frydrych]

Hi Ilija,

On 15/12/11 18:04, Ilija Kocho wrote:
> It may be just enough to add a new target entry in ecos.db.
> I am not familiar with Kwikstik I only know that it is based on same
> chip as TWR-K40. Can you please point the differences between boards
> with respect to: HAL, devices, etc.

I think HAL-wise the Kwikstik board is the same as the twr-40x256, it
just exposes different features of the MCU through the attached devices,
which include a microphone, a buzzer, an audio output, rechargeable
battery (with usb charging), a dot-matrix LCD.

The Kwistik is attractive because of its low cost (~$30), and even comes
with an on board Segger J-Link chip! Seems like an affordable base for
all kinds of hobby projects.

I think just having an additional target might work with all the
differences handled in device implementation, and all the HAL
functionality subsumed under the twr-k40x256, e.g., in the case of the LCD.

Tomas


> 
> Ilija
> 
> On 15.12.2011 17:57, Tomas Frydrych wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I am looking at adding the Kwikstik to the current Kinetis boards, and I
>> am wondering what would be the best way to approach this.
>>
>> Currently there are two Kinetis boards, the TWR-K40X256 and TWR-K60N512,
>> with the directory structure something like this:
>>
>> kinetis/var/...     - Generic Kinetis code
>> kinetis/twr_k40x256 - K40 and twr-k40 code
>> kinetis/twr_k60x256 - K60 and twr-k60 code
>>
>> Kwikstik is based on the same MCU as the twr-k40x256, so it needs the
>> same MCU-specific code as the twr-k40x256 board, which I think is all,
>> or nearly all of the code currently under the twr_k40x256 directory.
>>
>> I initially thought I'd just clone twr_k40x256 into a new kwikstik
>> directory, but that's probably not the best approach for
>> maintainability. I am thinking it might be better to split out the
>> generic K40 code so it can be shared between distinct boards, but I am
>> not sure where to split this to: should there be a separate k40x256
>> subdirectory and a corresponding package that the twr_k40x256 requires?
>> Or is there a better way of approaching this altogether?
>>
>> Many thanks in advance,
>>
>> Tomas
>>
>>

Re: Adding Kinetis boards

[Ilija Kocho]

Hi

Today I made brief comparison between TWR-K40 and Kwikstik schematics.
There are some differences such as different XTAL frequency and
different UART routed to TWR-SER. This would imply different CDL which
would require a separate directory tree for Kwikstik. I dislike copying
too, but I think that, from essential files, only twr_k40n512_misc.c
(kwikstik_misc.c) may stay a "verbatim", eventually. For instance,
another important file plf_io.h contains pin assignments (UART, etc)
that have to be updated.

Ilija


On 15.12.2011 20:55, Tomas Frydrych wrote:
> Hi Ilija,
>
> On 15/12/11 18:04, Ilija Kocho wrote:
>> It may be just enough to add a new target entry in ecos.db.
>> I am not familiar with Kwikstik I only know that it is based on same
>> chip as TWR-K40. Can you please point the differences between boards
>> with respect to: HAL, devices, etc.
> I think HAL-wise the Kwikstik board is the same as the twr-40x256, it
> just exposes different features of the MCU through the attached devices,
> which include a microphone, a buzzer, an audio output, rechargeable
> battery (with usb charging), a dot-matrix LCD.
>
> The Kwistik is attractive because of its low cost (~$30), and even comes
> with an on board Segger J-Link chip! Seems like an affordable base for
> all kinds of hobby projects.
>
> I think just having an additional target might work with all the
> differences handled in device implementation, and all the HAL
> functionality subsumed under the twr-k40x256, e.g., in the case of the LCD.
>
> Tomas
>
>
>> Ilija
>>
>> On 15.12.2011 17:57, Tomas Frydrych wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I am looking at adding the Kwikstik to the current Kinetis boards, and I
>>> am wondering what would be the best way to approach this.
>>>
>>> Currently there are two Kinetis boards, the TWR-K40X256 and TWR-K60N512,
>>> with the directory structure something like this:
>>>
>>> kinetis/var/...     - Generic Kinetis code
>>> kinetis/twr_k40x256 - K40 and twr-k40 code
>>> kinetis/twr_k60x256 - K60 and twr-k60 code
>>>
>>> Kwikstik is based on the same MCU as the twr-k40x256, so it needs the
>>> same MCU-specific code as the twr-k40x256 board, which I think is all,
>>> or nearly all of the code currently under the twr_k40x256 directory.
>>>
>>> I initially thought I'd just clone twr_k40x256 into a new kwikstik
>>> directory, but that's probably not the best approach for
>>> maintainability. I am thinking it might be better to split out the
>>> generic K40 code so it can be shared between distinct boards, but I am
>>> not sure where to split this to: should there be a separate k40x256
>>> subdirectory and a corresponding package that the twr_k40x256 requires?
>>> Or is there a better way of approaching this altogether?
>>>
>>> Many thanks in advance,
>>>
>>> Tomas
>>>
>>>
>

Re: Adding Kinetis boards

[Tomas Frydrych]

On 16/12/11 08:38, Ilija Kocho wrote:
> Today I made brief comparison between TWR-K40 and Kwikstik schematics.
> There are some differences such as different XTAL frequency and
> different UART routed to TWR-SER.

Thanks Ilija, I missed that on my initial comparison, but it seems those
are the only differences as far as current features of the kinetis port
are concerned -- I had a bit of time to poke at it today and got both
redboot and kernel+sram start up working (once I realized that the
kwikstik does not supply 3.3V into the Tower elevators, so it is
necessary to power the serial module from the elevator supply).

I'll prepare patches and put them into bugzilla in the next couple of
days, time permitting.

Tomas

> This would imply different CDL which
> would require a separate directory tree for Kwikstik. I dislike copying
> too, but I think that, from essential files, only twr_k40n512_misc.c
> (kwikstik_misc.c) may stay a "verbatim", eventually. For instance,
> another important file plf_io.h contains pin assignments (UART, etc)
> that have to be updated.
> 
> Ilija
> 
> 
> On 15.12.2011 20:55, Tomas Frydrych wrote:
>> Hi Ilija,
>>
>> On 15/12/11 18:04, Ilija Kocho wrote:
>>> It may be just enough to add a new target entry in ecos.db.
>>> I am not familiar with Kwikstik I only know that it is based on same
>>> chip as TWR-K40. Can you please point the differences between boards
>>> with respect to: HAL, devices, etc.
>> I think HAL-wise the Kwikstik board is the same as the twr-40x256, it
>> just exposes different features of the MCU through the attached devices,
>> which include a microphone, a buzzer, an audio output, rechargeable
>> battery (with usb charging), a dot-matrix LCD.
>>
>> The Kwistik is attractive because of its low cost (~$30), and even comes
>> with an on board Segger J-Link chip! Seems like an affordable base for
>> all kinds of hobby projects.
>>
>> I think just having an additional target might work with all the
>> differences handled in device implementation, and all the HAL
>> functionality subsumed under the twr-k40x256, e.g., in the case of the LCD.
>>
>> Tomas
>>
>>
>>> Ilija
>>>
>>> On 15.12.2011 17:57, Tomas Frydrych wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> I am looking at adding the Kwikstik to the current Kinetis boards, and I
>>>> am wondering what would be the best way to approach this.
>>>>
>>>> Currently there are two Kinetis boards, the TWR-K40X256 and TWR-K60N512,
>>>> with the directory structure something like this:
>>>>
>>>> kinetis/var/...     - Generic Kinetis code
>>>> kinetis/twr_k40x256 - K40 and twr-k40 code
>>>> kinetis/twr_k60x256 - K60 and twr-k60 code
>>>>
>>>> Kwikstik is based on the same MCU as the twr-k40x256, so it needs the
>>>> same MCU-specific code as the twr-k40x256 board, which I think is all,
>>>> or nearly all of the code currently under the twr_k40x256 directory.
>>>>
>>>> I initially thought I'd just clone twr_k40x256 into a new kwikstik
>>>> directory, but that's probably not the best approach for
>>>> maintainability. I am thinking it might be better to split out the
>>>> generic K40 code so it can be shared between distinct boards, but I am
>>>> not sure where to split this to: should there be a separate k40x256
>>>> subdirectory and a corresponding package that the twr_k40x256 requires?
>>>> Or is there a better way of approaching this altogether?
>>>>
>>>> Many thanks in advance,
>>>>
>>>> Tomas
>>>>
>>>>
>>