Where do I begin?

[arm_dude]

Posted on April 18, 2015 at 03:00

Hi all,

I'm coming from the PICmicro world, and thought I'd get into ARM processors, so picked up an STM32L100C-DISCO.  I want to understand the basics -- for example, how to create a simple program to blink an LED.I found a video from ST that explains what on the board is what, but then points me to the website for examples and there are none for this specific processor.  I downloaded Atollic TrueStudio Lite for now, but most everything I can find goes into specifics of SWD, debugging, etc.What's the official (or even unofficial) path for learning the basics of these processors?Thanks.

[Tesla DeLorean]

Posted on April 18, 2015 at 06:56

I've always found the Reference Manuals a good place to start. Both ST's and ARM's.

Joseph Yiu has published several books on the Cortex-Mx series, which also give a slightly different perspective. I'm sure there are third part training firms which also provide courses and immersion in the technology. Not much for the L0 parts myself, not a big Cortex-M0 fan, and the L0 doesn't support the classic Standard Peripheral Library

[arm_dude]

Posted on April 18, 2015 at 21:14

So far, I'm still only finding tutorials for the STM32F... parts, and I have STM32L... I'm not sure if they're compatible.  FWIW, I'm using STM32L100 (which is Cortex M3).

I did manage to find the stock (shipped) firmware for my eval board and was able to compile and run that, but it seems I have to build, then debug, the terminate debugging and I'll have the code running.  I tried creating a Runtime configuration in the Atollic (Eclipse) IDE but it won't compile.  Can anyone tell me how to compile a program into a .hex or .bin (or other if I'm missing something) file.  If I can compile to that final flashable file, I can use the STLink utility to flash it to the chip.  That's really all I need to understand for now.  Then I can get to reading all about ARM architecture and coding specifics.Thanks.

[Tesla DeLorean]

Posted on April 19, 2015 at 01:59

Sorry focused on the zeros.

I don't use Atollic, as I recall there is a project template within the supplied demo, and perhaps the L1xx standard library.

http://www.st.com/web/en/catalog/tools/PF259264

http://www.st.com/web/en/catalog/tools/PF257913

[arm_dude]

Posted on April 19, 2015 at 05:08

Got that firmware project, thanks.  Still trying to find a tutorial on how to compile a project and download to the target board and run it (without any debugging).  I found an IDE called CoIDE by CooCox through a youtube tutorial, so will experiment with that next.

Thanks.

[Tesla DeLorean]

Posted on April 19, 2015 at 16:34

In Keil there are option to create .HEX in addition to .AXF(ELF), and a Download->Flash menu to write to the parts outside the debugger.

The two firmware package cited have project files (templates) that can be cloned. Project creation can get quite involved, but two areas people tend to fall over is the defines passed into the compiler, and the include paths/order. Review the structure and construction of the projects, and the supporting documentation from the tools vendor.

[childresss]

Posted on April 21, 2015 at 08:36

IDEs.. I suggest IAR's EWARM free size limited non-commerical license. Lots of tutorials. And an ST-Link pod.  Perhaps Keil. Next rung down (IMO) is Rowley for ARM.

I tried CoIDE and found it to be quite buggy and wonky, to grossly understate.