Subject: armtool patches
Date: 20-01-2004 18:57
From: Petr Novak <pen AT dobnet dot cz>
To: Erwin Authried <eauth AT softsys dot co dot at>
CC: Stas Khirman <staskh AT comcast dot net>, 
    Bruno Lopes F. Cabral <bruno AT openline dot com dot br>

Hi Erwin

[...]

While working with the armtool, I have done some small changes. Let me 
comment on them first, you can have a look at the sources later.

First, while for most of your work it is fine that the CPU is stopped except 
the x command, I wanted to be able to for instance place a breakpoint, get 
the register dump, and continue at the full speed. First, I thought that the 
instruction counting is wrong, but after all the only "problem" was that the 
TAP controller was not left in the run/idle mode after the armtool has 
returned to command shell.

Next, I have added some very primitive breakpoint functionality, wich has 
helped me to trace function call parameters and similar tasks while analyzing 
the standard firmware supplied with the SMC box.

I have made the tool more correct in operations it needs to wait for the CPU 
to finish performing the operation. The original version did simply a short 
busy wait and has assumed that the operation has finished properly. I have 
used a more strict approach waiting for the status bit, at the obvious cost 
of the tool being substantially slower. However, with the hardware and tools 
I was not used to, I have preferred this stricter approach to the "I know it 
has to be that way" one.

I have also tried to add more JTAG stuff, but I have to admit that once 
uClinux started to work, I did not really come back to finish the low-level 
stuff, as I had to finish my project where the SMC was just a tool and not a 
final objective.

[...]

The patch is attached, not all changes are really relevant, I was getting 
used to using the tool I may have added some debug print and other stuff not 
really doing any useful work.

For the Intel StrataFlash erase/programming, I have used the same approach as 
you did - to load the data into SDRAM with armtool with a small code to 
perform the actual flash write. As the write to the Intel StrataFlash chips 
is much simpler than with other makes of flash, the program is simpler than 
yours for other flash architectures. There is a small caveat that the SMC 
hardware has a gate for flash write on one of the GPIO pins, so the pin has 
to have the correct value for any flash write to be effective.

If you want to check anything in the changes or if you have some idea how to 
extend the tool, please drop me a line.

Cheers,
Petr Novak
vice-chairman
DOBNET, rural broadband non-profit WISP

we operate in the lower Berounka region (Berounka river, Brdy mountains, 
Cesky Kras caves, under the Karlstejn castle, a famous golf course, a most 
wonderfull spot only 40km south of Prague)
Czechia

[...]