COSC 4931 Embedded Systems

Fall 2012

Homework Assignment #2

"Hello, World!"
-- Dennis Ritchie

Due: Wednesday, February 22nd, 11:00am CST
Submit: Turn in directory containing source code and any appropriate build files using the turnin command on the Systems Lab machines.
Work is to be completed in pairs.

Hello World

Choose from one of the following embedded development platforms in the lab:

• 16-bit Motorola HC12 Dragon Board
• 8-bit Arduino Mega 1280
• STM32 ARM Cortex
• AT91 Series ARM Thumb
• Zilog Z8

Get a basic "hello world" class program to compile, upload, and run on your platform. If your platform has an LCD panel or equivalent device, use it, otherwise output on the serial console. If this is very complex on your platform, start with blinking an on-board LED.

Roadmap

The purpose of this assignment is to begin collecting the information and tools required to develop successfully with these platforms. I suggest several key steps:

• Find the documentation for your processor. This should describe at a minumum the instruction set, registers, memory model, interrupt and timer systems.
• Find the documentation for your platform. All of these processors are mounted on evaluation boards, which include various power supplies, peripheral devices and I/O pins amenable for beginning exploration.
• Find a suitable toolchain for compiling assembly and/or C source code for your platform. The professor is available to assist in the installation of Linux-based toolchains. Windows toolchains -- you're on your own.
• Figure out the development model for the evaluation board. How do you power up and reset the system? How do you transfer code to the processor to run? How do you start communicating with the hardware?

This assignment has an above-average time span (2 weeks) because this is going to require some start up time, information gathering and experimentation on the part of all of the teams. Don't wait to get started on this! Bring questions when you're stuck.