This is the mail archive of the
ecos-discuss@sources.redhat.com
mailing list for the eCos project.
RE: Creating eCos flash application image for AT91 EB40aRedboot
- From: Øyvind Harboe <oyvind dot harboe at zylin dot com>
- To: "'Gary D. Thomas'" <gary dot thomas at mind dot be>
- Cc: "'eCos Discussion'" <ecos-discuss at sources dot redhat dot com>
- Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 01:37:58 +0200
- Subject: RE: [ECOS] Creating eCos flash application image for AT91 EB40aRedboot
> Indeed, it is this way by design. IMO loading stuff into
> memory is quite distinct from writing to the FLASH. There
> are times when one wants to do one and not the other and I
> don't think that the functions should be intertwined like this.
> Then there is the problem
> of reasonable ways to manage the two functions. Some devices
> may take a very long time to write - how might one throttle
> the incoming data stream while this happens? That's just one
> of many complications that would be added if these functions
> were combined. Another thing is that it's a good idea to
> verify that the image has been correctly downloaded before
> committing to FLASH - that's why there's a separate checksum
> command. This is just part of the list...
These are good explanations why it isn't technically straightforward
to implement a pervasive robust serial->flash programming option
to the Redboot load command.
>From a product point of view it is nice, as we have been able
to in the past, to launch any terminal program, type in
a single command, upload a single file and reset the
unit. Poof done!
This avoids dependency on a custom app to do all these steps
for the user. With 64k chunks and 2MB flash, it can't be done
manually.
Currently I believe the best option is to write a custom upload
app and leave Redboot be. We use Java on the desktop side of
things, so supporting a couple of platforms is doable.
Once my eCos superpowers reach their prime, I may attempt to
add a robust "load directly to flash" option to Redboot. :-)
Øyvind
--
Before posting, please read the FAQ: http://sources.redhat.com/fom/ecos
and search the list archive: http://sources.redhat.com/ml/ecos-discuss