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In most of my previous blogs I have written about working on the command line and using the project-creator and library-manager utilities. Now I am going to introduce you to the IDE and start a sequence of articles to show off the TFT display integration.
ModusToolbox IDE is just Eclipse with a Cypress twist to make a few things easier to do. There is nothing fancy going on, just a new perspective called ModusToolbox. If you are an Eclipse master and do not like our idea if what's easy, just switch to the regular C/C++ perspective and you'll be grand.
The ModusToolbox perspective is actually intended to save you the chore of repeatedly switching between C/C++ and Debug. It merges the editing views, like Project Explorer, Outline, and Console, with the Breakpoints, Registers, Variables (and so on) debugging views into a single screen. We think it's nifty. We have also grouped some of the most common actions into a super-handy-dandy "Quick Panel" that gives you one-click access to project creation, library management, building, cleaning, configuring, programming, debugging, cooking, bathing, exercising, and calling your mom on the weekend.
In this picture you can see these options for a TFT project that I am about to walk you through.
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New Application launches the same GUI that I wrote about in My Second ModusToolbox 2.0 Project. I strongly recommend using this button (or "File->New->ModusToolbox IDE Application" if you're a menu-centric guy) to create projects because this GUI ensures that your files, settings, paths, and launch configurations are all set up correctly. Again, if you know Eclipse and Make inside out (and backwards and ideally sideways) then you could just create an Eclipse C/C++ project and set all that up manually. You could also build a microwave out of chewing gum and after shave but I do not recommend that either.
Search Online for Code Examples just points your browser to our GitHub examples page.
Build and Clean, youll be shocked to learn, build and clean the project by running Make with the appropriate options.
Launches are shortcuts to pre-built launch configurations that program and/or Debug the kit with the application. Configurations exist for Segger J-Link the Cypress KitProg3 (which also supports MiniProg4) hardware.
Tools is a collection of ModusToolbox utilities like the configurators, CapSense tuner, firmware updater (updates KitProg3) and so on. I'll write about those in some detail in future blogs.
Documentation gather together some device and kit information along with links to the documentation for all the libraries included in your project. |
OK, that's the Quick Panel. Like it? Good. Let's go make something. I want to show off the TFT display integration that my friends Misha and Oleksandr wrote. So I will use the CY8CKIT-062-WIFI-BT kit that includes a plug-in shield with a 2.4" TFT screen.
Press the New Application button in the Quick Panel and choose the kit.
Choose the "Empty PSoC6 App" template and give your project a name (I chose "TFT_Play").
When you complete the wizard it pulls in all the firmware you need from GitHub and updates the libraries to make sure you are ready to go. The Quick Panel should look like the image above.
Press Build TFT_Play Application to verify that the project will compile and give you HEX and ELF files in the build/CY8CKIT-062-WIFI-BT/Debug folder. If the Console view contains this text then, be happy!
Total Internal Flash (Available) 1048576
Total Internal Flash (Utilized) 21000
Total Internal SRAM (Available) 292864
Total Internal SRAM (Utilized) 279920
09:44:19 Build Finished. 0 errors, 0 warnings. (took 59s.752ms)
Plug your kit into a USB port and press TFT_Play Program (KitProg3) to download the program. If your Console view contains this text then, be more happy!
** Program operation completed successfully **
srst_only separate srst_gates_jtag srst_open_drain connect_deassert_srst
Info : SWD DPIDR 0x6ba02477
Info : psoc6.cpu.cm0: external reset detected
Info : psoc6.cpu.cm4: external reset detected
shutdown command invoked
The program does not actually do anything yet. But press the TFT_Play Debug (KitProg3) button to start the debugger. You should be able to step through the BSP setup code. The debugger starts and runs the code up to the start of the main() function. Use the F5 (Step Into) and F6 (Step Over) buttons to get a feel for the debugger. Here is a picture of the debugger buttons providing, in order:
Resume Execute code
Suspend Pause code execution
Terminate Close the debugger
Disconnect (Not enabled by KitProg3)
Step Into Step into a function call
Step Over Step over a function call (stay in the calling function)
Step Return Execute up one level of the stack
Drop to Frame (Not enabled)
Use Step Filters (Not enabled)
Restart Start the program from the beginning
So now you know how to create a new application inside the IDE. It is remarkably like the command-line and project-creator tools methods isn't it? That's because we're creating a framework that lets you choose the way you work, what IDE you like, what debugger you use, what editor, and so on. Tomorrow I'll write a little bit more about the project and show you how easy it is to get started with the TFT.