ARM Debate

[Benj]

Hello,

We currently support the ARM7 range of AT91SAM7S chips from Atmel but since we supported these devices there has been a lot of development and improvement in the range of ARM hardware.

We are going to have a meeting regarding what to do with our ARM range of products for the future next week so I wanted to put out a request to see what you the customer would like to see supported in Flowcode and on Matrix hardware. ARMs have also opened the door for embedded linux applications e.g. the raspberry pi, android and beaglebone, is there anything we could do here regarding E-blocks or Flowcode?

Here are some of the options we are considering:

mBed:

ARM Types = Cortex-M0+, Cortex-M3, Cortex-M4
Manufacturers = NXP, ST, Freescale

Arduino Due:

ARM Types = Cortex-M3
Manufacturers = Atmel

LPC Xpresso:

ARM Types = ARM7, ARM9, Cortex-M
Manufacturers = NXP

[JohnCrow]

Hi Benj

My only experience with ARM & FC is the ARM ECIO.

I think the main reasons I have avoided using that family is that it runs on 3.3V rather than the 5V for PIC and AVR.
There is always the chance of forgetting to set the eblock back to 5V after using it at 3.3V which with some of the more advanced eblocks could be an expensive mistake.
Plus, with the EB185, the ARM devices are all SMD and supplied on a carrier board which makes adding them to projects more difficult.

On the other hand, ARM is a much more powerful device the PIC.

Question - Is the carrier board available separately so I could have more than 1 device to go with the programmer?

Boards like the mBed and Arduino Due are one my list of future projects (when time allows) but if they had support in FC it would certainly make things easier.

I'm sure what ever you decide to do, I'm sure it will be well supported by the regular users on the forums.

[hyperion007]

I would love to have the power and ease of Flowcode for ARM.

mBed:

ARM Types = Cortex-M0+, Cortex-M3, Cortex-M4
Manufacturers = NXP, ST, Freescale

I don't know much at all about programming Ras.Pi or BeagleBoneBlack but I know that I would love to be able to use the BBB for it's awesome power and plethora of hardware connections etc.

If it would be possible to write programs in FC for the BBB with very easy to use component macros for the available hardware on the BBB (Ethernet, NEON floating-point accelerator, USB client, USB host, HDMI, SD card) And maybe some other existing component macros can be ported as well. Like CANbus, I2C etc. Perfect opportunity to implement the UTFT libraries into component macro form (large touch and non touch TFT screens)

Oh the opportunities with such powerful hardware

[Hydro-Jeff]

Cypress is now combining ARM cores with PSoC technology. Perhaps you could add Flowcode functionality to them as well.

http://www.cypress.com/psoc4/?source=CY-ENG-HEADER

[Benj]

Cypress is now combining ARM cores with PSoC technology. Perhaps you could add Flowcode functionality to them as well.

Sounds great, can you explain PSoC and why it is good? Had a look at the site and other than "programming system on chip" cannot find out why it is a thing to be shouting about Dont most chips have an on-board programming system?

[Benj]

Hmm sounds like something akin to a FPGA / CPLD type approach in a microcontroller... Maybe?

PSoC® 4 is a scalable and reconfigurable platform architecture for a family of programmable embedded system controllers with an ARM® Cortex™-M0 CPU. It combines programmable and reconfigurable analog and digital blocks with flexible automatic routing. The PSoC 4000 product family is the smallest member of the PSoC 4 platform architecture. It is a combination of a microcontroller with standard communication and timing peripherals, a capacitive touch-sensing system (CapSense) with best-in-class performance, and general-purpose analog. PSoC 4000 products will be fully upward compatible with members of the PSoC 4 platform for new applications and design needs.

[Kenrix2]

Thank you for the link Hydro-Jeff. I have always wanted to use a 32 bit micro so I could use equations that would otherwise bring an 8 bit micro to it's knees. The problem was I could not find one with the features I needed. With your help I think I found one in the 4100 series. I am experimenting now with the software and I like the pin reassignment feature which would make using single sided boards even easier.

This would be a great addition to Flowcode.

[Benj]

This would be a great addition to Flowcode.

Just bought some Cypress and STM cortex kits from Farnell for peanuts, watch this space

[Hydro-Jeff]

Hi Benj,

Looks like you have had a look at the Cypress PSoC Devices. Yes, they are a kind of hybrid micro/fpga/clpd. I'm just starting with them, but the combination of hardware components and graphical software interface make them very attractive for many smaller projects. The price is right too.

Not sure how you can make them compatible with flowcode (add on to PSoC Creator, or a completely new interface), but if you can pull it off it will make for a very powerful tool for the toolbox.

Good Luck!

Jeff

[Benj]

Hi Jeff,

I've ordered some of these http://uk.farnell.com/CY8CKIT049-protot ... ts-cypress as well as some other devices so will have a good play and see how I get on. I'm just amazed at how cheap they are to buy!

Out of interest are you using the PSoC creation software stand alone or are you using it along side a C compiler? If so which one are you using?

[Hydro-Jeff]

Hi Benj,

I'm using PSoC Creator 3.0 only at the moment. My C skills are lacking so I need the training wheels.....

Jeff

[Mathy]

Hello Benj,

Tell me if I'm wrong but I think you sold much more Microchip Pic Flowcode release than others one ( Atmel AVR and ARM ).
I don't know exactly why but I think it is because there are lots of information about PIC project on internet, lots of cheap dev board and cheap programmer.
Maybe with the Arduino system, this is not so true.

I'm only speaking about what I see on Internet ( forums etc ) so it is just my own opinion but I think that the STM32 family is the most represented.
We can find lost of project with STM32F3 or F4 MCU, maybe because we can find stm32 discovery board for nothing or STM32 nucleo.

Supporting STM32F4 and or F3 will be a very breat improvement

Best regards,

Mathy

[Hydro-Jeff]

Benj,

Add 1 additional vote for Freescale Kinetis KL family of parts. My company is adding this set of chips for new platform development. It would benefit me as test engineer to have the flowcode tool for these as well.

Also, I know this is an ARM Debate but are there any plans for AVR32? My company is also heavily invested in the AVR32 chip set.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Thomas Thor]

+ 1
Thomas,

Hello Benj,

Tell me if I'm wrong but I think you sold much more Microchip Pic Flowcode release than others one ( Atmel AVR and ARM ).
I don't know exactly why but I think it is because there are lots of information about PIC project on internet, lots of cheap dev board and cheap programmer.
Maybe with the Arduino system, this is not so true.

I'm only speaking about what I see on Internet ( forums etc ) so it is just my own opinion but I think that the STM32 family is the most represented.
We can find lost of project with STM32F3 or F4 MCU, maybe because we can find stm32 discovery board for nothing or STM32 nucleo.

Supporting STM32F4 and or F3 will be a very breat improvement

Best regards,

Mathy

[hyperion007]

This might be a bit of a side note and as I'm not familiar with Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Black etc it might be gibberish

If Flowcode would support for example the BeagleBone Black I would very very much like to see the addition of a GUI builder for developing nice looking and functioning menus and ways to display data on bigger touch screens with higher resolutions. There are a few products out there that have these GUI builders, but I have not been able to try any and have not found any information about them except from the companies that make and sell them. It might be to difficult and or expensive to add to Flowcode but I sure wish to have it.

It would be great to be able to write programs in FC for the BeagleBone Black since it would have a familiar look and feel. It's a big step just to start programming. It is made much easier thanks to Flowcode (I would NOT have been able to learn it on my own by jumping straight into C#). Even though Flowcode has made me understand C code a lot better it would still be a VERY big step to move to another platform using another tool set etc. A step too big I fear. For me at least.

Again I am pushing for implementation of the UTFT libraries

[Mantas]

Hello Ben,

It's about time I say!
One logical addition to your ARM family would be ATMEL Cortex M4 SAM4SD32B, SAM4SD16B, SAM4SA16B, SAM4S16B, (and I think the same goes with M3 series) which are pin to pin compatible with old AT91SAM7S series. So it would be a plug and play solution (maybe even for EB185, by changing daughter board) for some users who used these devices in their projects in the past. Plus it has that ATMEL ASF, which is a library, for all the functionalities these new devices have, so integrating it in the flowcode shouldn't be a hasle, and the datasheets are almost identical. They are cheap, powerful devices, so I would really love to see them in the future.

Best regards,
Mantas

[Thomas Thor]

Hello All,

I have just investigated that these "ATMEL Cortex M4 SAM4SD32B, SAM4SD16B, SAM4SA16B, SAM4S16B" CPU's don't have Can or Ethernet support.
In my opinion, new ARM package should strong enough and have at least all interfaces UART, Can, SPI, I2C, LIN, Ethernet etc.

Regards,
Thomas

Hello Ben,

It's about time I say!
One logical addition to your ARM family would be ATMEL Cortex M4 SAM4SD32B, SAM4SD16B, SAM4SA16B, SAM4S16B, (and I think the same goes with M3 series) which are pin to pin compatible with old AT91SAM7S series. So it would be a plug and play solution (maybe even for EB185, by changing daughter board) for some users who used these devices in their projects in the past. Plus it has that ATMEL ASF, which is a library, for all the functionalities these new devices have, so integrating it in the flowcode shouldn't be a hasle, and the datasheets are almost identical. They are cheap, powerful devices, so I would really love to see them in the future.

Best regards,
Mantas

[Mantas]

Hi Thomas,

Not all applications need built in CAN or ethernet support. There are many options externally that is available to add in case you need.

Best regards,
Mantas

[Mantas]

Maybe this is a little bit off topic, but I would really love to see flowcode having a support for third parties, or manufacturers ICD, via Jtag, SW, or similar.

BR,
Mantas

[Thomas Thor]

Hello Ben,

Could you please share your decision about future of Arm module in Flowcode ? When it will be released, pricing option etc. awaiting for your information.

Regards,
Thomas

Hello,

We currently support the ARM7 range of AT91SAM7S chips from Atmel but since we supported these devices there has been a lot of development and improvement in the range of ARM hardware.

We are going to have a meeting regarding what to do with our ARM range of products for the future next week so I wanted to put out a request to see what you the customer would like to see supported in Flowcode and on Matrix hardware. ARMs have also opened the door for embedded linux applications e.g. the raspberry pi, android and beaglebone, is there anything we could do here regarding E-blocks or Flowcode?

Here are some of the options we are considering:

mBed:

ARM Types = Cortex-M0+, Cortex-M3, Cortex-M4
Manufacturers = NXP, ST, Freescale

Arduino Due:

ARM Types = Cortex-M3
Manufacturers = Atmel

LPC Xpresso:

ARM Types = ARM7, ARM9, Cortex-M
Manufacturers = NXP

[dazz]

Arduino due sounds good , mainly for completeness

[Benj]

Hello,

No decisions as such quite yet. We have a feeling about what to do but nothing chiselled in stone yet.

So far I've had a play with the ST ARMs and have code being produced via Flowcode but it was more a what is possible rather than working towards the polished end product.

[KevinH]

Just seen this post, I have been using the mBed for many prototypes and Flowcode would be great for that.

The mBed is compact, powerful, ready to use in a socket or breadboard and Flowcode would speed up the application development for areas the product is aimed at.

So nBed for me please!

[Benj]

Hello,

mBed seems to be a real hodgepodge of different devices from different manufacturers. Seen some ST and NXP devices in the list so looks like we should be able to do something here.

[mscrace81]

Hi Benj,

Are there any further developments or up and coming announcements on Flowcode/ARM STM32 support? I would really like to see this become a reality. We use this family of MCU, but quite often struggle with HW to SW handover with the inevitable untested software running on untested hardware conundrum when things don't work as expected. I wish for the day that us HW engineers can use Flowcode to develop known good software test routines to validate the HW, before handover to software team.

Regards,

Matt