Overview

The SEAD3 platform HAL package is loaded automatically when eCos is configured for an SEAD3 target. It should never be necessary to load this package explicitly. Unloading the package should only happen as a side effect of switching target hardware.

Startup

The SEAD3 platform HAL package supports four separate startup types: RAM, ROM, ROMRAM and JTAG. The configuration option CYG_HAL_STARTUP controls which startup type is being used. For typical application development RAM startup should be used, and the application will be run via mips-sde-elf-gdb interacting with RedBoot using either serial or ethernet. It is assumed that the low-level hardware initialization, including setting up the memory map, has already been performed by RedBoot. By default the application will use certain services provided by RedBoot via the virtual vector mechanism, including diagnostic output, but that can be disabled via CYGSEM_HAL_USE_ROM_MONITOR.

ROM startup can be used for applications which are programmed into the boot flash at 0xbfc00000. On power up the processor will jump to this location and execute the code that is there. The startup code will copy the applications data segment from ROM to RAM at 0x80000000 and zero the BSS. Code execution will continue from ROM. All the hardware will be initialized, and the application is self-contained. This startup type can be used by the flash-resident version of RedBoot, and can also be used for finished applications that run stand-alone.

ROMRAM startup can be used for applications which are programmed into the boot flash at 0xbfc00000. On power up the processor will jump to this location and execute the code that is there. The startup code will copy the applications taxt and data segments from ROM to RAM at 0x80000000 and zero the BSS. Code execution will continue from RAM. All the hardware will be initialized, and the application is self-contained. This startup type can be used by the flash-resident version of RedBoot, and can also be used for finished applications that run stand-alone.

JTAG startup can be used for applications which will be debugged via JTAG instead of RedBoot. The behaviour is a combination of ROM and RAM startup: the application is loaded at 0x80000000 and initializes all the hardware, with no dependencies on services provided by a ROM monitor.

RedBoot and Virtual Vectors

If the application is intended to act as a ROM monitor, providing services for other applications, then the configuration option CYGSEM_HAL_ROM_MONITOR should be set. Typically this option is set only when building RedBoot.

If the application is supposed to make use of services provided by a ROM monitor, via the eCos virtual vector mechanism, then the configuration option CYGSEM_HAL_USE_ROM_MONITOR should be set. By default this option is enabled when building for a RAM startup, disabled otherwise. It can be manually disabled for a RAM startup, making the application self-contained. That is useful as a testing step before switching to ROM startup. It also allows applications to be run and debugged via JTAG.

If the application does not rely on a ROM monitor for diagnostic services then UART0 will be used for HAL diagnostics and standard output. The default baud rate is controlled by CYGNUM_HAL_VIRTUAL_VECTOR_CONSOLE_CHANNEL_BAUD. If UART0 is needed by the HAL diagnostics code it cannot be accessed via the serial driver and applications should be loaded via ethernet. Diagnostic output can also be switched to using UART1 by setting CYGNUM_HAL_VIRTUAL_VECTOR_CONSOLE_CHANNEL to 1.

System Clock

The coprocessor 0 COUNTER/COMPARE timer is used for the eCos system clock. The configuration option CYGNUM_HAL_RTC_PERIOD controls the value programmed into the compare register. The value of this is calculated from the CPU frequency and the value of CYGNUM_HAL_RTC_DENOMINATOR. The calculations are arranged so that CYGNUM_HAL_RTC_DENOMINATOR effectively defines the clock frequency and it the only configuration option that need to be changed to select a different clock rate.

Board Type Selection

The option CYGHWR_HAL_MIPS_SEAD3 selects the SEAD3 board variant. It may be set to either LX50 or LX110. Normally this will be set automatically when selecting for the sead3_14k or sead3_14kc targets.

Endian Mode Selection

The option CYGHWR_HAL_MIPS_SEAD3_ENDIAN selects the CPU and peripheral endian mode. It may be set to either Little or Big. The default is Little. The BIGEND switch, SW2[1], needs to be set to match and if RAM applications are to be used a matching RedBoot must also be installed. Note also that the RedBoot flash directory and configuration are not stored in an endian-independent manner and would need to be reinitialized.

Instruction Set Selection

The option CYGPKG_HAL_MIPS_MICROMIPS_SUPPORT selects instruction set support. It may be set to either APP, ECOS or FULL. The default is APP which causes eCos and RedBoot to be compiled in the MIPS32 instruction set, but allows user code to be compiled in the microMIPS instruction set. When set to ECOS then all eCos/RedBoot C and C++ code is compiled into microMIPS instructions; however assembly level startup and exception handling code remains in MIPS32 instructions, as it must since the CPU starts in this instruction set, and switches to it for all exceptions. The FULL option is present for future devices that operate entirely in microMIPS mode, and is not currently supported.

Unlike endian mode, the instruction set selection of RedBoot and eCos applications need not match. A MIPS32 RedBoot can load and run microMIPS eCos applications and a microMIPS RedBoot can load and run MIPS32 applications.

To compile applications into microMIPS the standard flags that are used in eCos and exported to the ecos.mak file should be used except that the -mips32r2 flag should be replaced by -mmicromips and the options -mno-jals -minterlink-mips16 added.

Flash Driver

The platform HAL package contains flash driver support for the user flash device. By default this is inactive, and it can be made active by loading the generic flash package CYGPKG_IO_FLASH. The boot flash is not programmable at runtime.

Ethernet Support

The platform HAL provides the platform-specific support for a single SMSC LAN9211 ethernet device, if the generic ethernet support is enabled. The MAC address is stored in an EEPROM connected to the LAN9211 and will be loaded into the MAC automatically on reset.

Compiler Flags

The platform HAL defines the default compiler and linker flags for all packages, although it is possible to override these on a per-package basis. Most of the flags used are the same as for other architectures supported by eCos. There are some flags specific to this port: