How do I specify HW target (e.g. STM32L072) to debug Makefile project

[Pieter Conradie]

Hi everyone!

I am able to successfully create a new Makefile project in a directory containing existing code. It work seamlessly and I am able to build the code without a hitch but when I try to debug the actual hardware target (e.g. STM32L072RBTx) I hit a brick wall and I don't know how to proceed further.

When I launch the "Debug Configurations" dialog, I get an error dialog: "Project setup issue: Not able to get mcu target. Reason: Build configuration is not valid. Described mcu target is not supported". See attached screenshot:

How do I specify the HW target (after creating a Makefile project)? Any hints / tips / links would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Pieter

https://piconomix.com

[hansd56]

Hi, not a specialist with make projects. I think you will still need a startupfile.s, linkerfile and you have to generate an .elf file with highest debug options and no optimization.

The link command from my tests with a project:

arm-none-eabi-g++ -o "AProPrinterGUI.elf" @"objects.list" $(USER_OBJS) $(LIBS) -mcpu=cortex-m7 -T"../STM32F746NG_FLASH.ld" --specs=nosys.specs -Wl,-Map="AProPrinterGUI.map" -Wl,--gc-sections -static -L../Middlewares/ST/TouchGFX/touchgfx/lib/core/cortex_m7/gcc --specs=nano.specs -mfpu=fpv5-sp-d16 -mfloat-abi=hard -mthumb -Wl,--start-group -lc -lm -lstdc++ -lsupc++ -Wl,--end-group

The .elf creation

post-build:

   arm-none-eabi-objcopy.exe -O ihex "AProPrinterGUI.elf" "AProPrinterGUI.hex"

   -@echo ' '

My best guess is they get it from the .elf file. I hope this helps.

[Pieter Conradie]

Hi @hands56,

Sorry if I did not make this clear. My project build successfully and generates an ELF file. This is not the problem.

My problem is that I am unable to get debugging working. For that I have to specify the HW target somewhere in the IDE. The IDE is complaining that it is "unable to get the MCU target".

So this is more of a support question for the STM32CubeIDE development team, unless someone already knows how to do this.

Best regards,

Pieter

[hansd56]

Even an IDE generated project is a make file project. Where is your .elf reference in the C/C++ Application?

[Pieter Conradie]

Hi @hands56,

I did some more digging. I found that in order to debug STM32 I had to add a project nature:

I'm not very familiar on what a "project nature" is exactly, but it looks like I need it.

I also manually edited the ".cproject" file and updated the following lines to specify the MCU target:

<option id="com.st.stm32cube.ide.mcu.gnu.managedbuild.option.target_mcu.1716657407" name="Mcu" superClass="com.st.stm32cube.ide.mcu.gnu.managedbuild.option.target_mcu" value="STM32L072RBTx" valueType="string"/>
							<option id="com.st.stm32cube.ide.mcu.gnu.managedbuild.option.target_cpuid.1015595930" name="CpuId" superClass="com.st.stm32cube.ide.mcu.gnu.managedbuild.option.target_cpuid" value="0" valueType="string"/>
							<option id="com.st.stm32cube.ide.mcu.gnu.managedbuild.option.target_coreid.241682417" name="CpuCoreId" superClass="com.st.stm32cube.ide.mcu.gnu.managedbuild.option.target_coreid" value="0" valueType="string"/>
							<option id="com.st.stm32cube.ide.mcu.gnu.managedbuild.option.target_board.1761731627" name="Board" superClass="com.st.stm32cube.ide.mcu.gnu.managedbuild.option.target_board" value="genericBoard" valueType="string"/>

This made the error dialog go away and an "STM32 MCU Debugging" configuration appeared:

Success! I can program and debug my target hardware.

I did notice this though:

Manually editing the ".cproject" file feels like a dirty hack to me and not sustainable long term. I am going to create a new thread question where I try to solve it using a different approach by creating an STM32 project and trying to change it from a Managed CDT project nature to an unmanaged Makefile project nature.

Regards,

Pieter

P.S. If someone finds this question and found an elegant solution, please post here.

[Ethan HUANG · Accepted solution]

Hi Pieter,

Here is how I dealt with Makefile project for your reference:

https://github.com/ethanhuanginst/STM32CubeIDE-Workshop-2019/tree/master/hands-on/02_stm32_hp141_lcd

NOTE: This was tested over STM32CubeIDE v.1,0.0 and not tested over the latest v1.0.1.

[Pieter Conradie]

Hi Ethan,

Your answer is perfect, thanks 🙂 FYI, I got to a similar solution and posted it here:

https://community.st.com/s/question/0D50X0000B43qejSQA/how-do-i-change-an-stm32-project-to-a-non-managed-makefile-mcu-project

Best regards,

Pieter

https://piconomix.com