How can I add variables to view/modify with MCAT?

[lancefisher]

I'm using MCAT with a project running on a FRDM-KV31F eval board.  The project is a modified version of the project associated with AN12374.  I want to use Freemaster (version 2.5) with MCAT to view and modify some of the variables I added to the project while controlling the project via the MCAT user interface.  I have generated the new variables in Freemaster and added them to a watch window but the values show up as '?' and cannot be written.  What do I need to do to give Freemaster (with MCAT) access to my new variables?

[lancefisher]

I don't know how to find or modify the existing TSA tables or create and add my own.  Where can I learn about "TSA Safety"?

[MichalH]

Hello Lance,

please see the FreeMASTER Communication Driver user guide at https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/user-guide/FMSTRSCIDRVUG.pdf. This document describes the latest driver version which is included in MCUXpresso SDK. It might be newer than what you use, but the sections dedicated to TSA are valid for all driver versions.

Also see more FreeMASTER documents and presentations at this page.

Best regards,

Michal

[MichalH · Accepted solution]

Dear Lance,

the MCU application most probably uses a TSA feature along with TSA-safety. So-called TSA tables enable developer to describe variable types and access rights directly in the application code. The tables are then read by FreeMASTER and used as a symbol information instead of loading/parsing ELF file. With TSA-safety, the variables which are NOT described by any TSA table are not accessible by FreeMASTER at all - this is why you see question marks.

You have two options: 

• Add your variables to existing  TSA tables, or create your own TSA table and add it to the list of used TSA tables.
• Disable TSA-safety feature to gain access to the rest of the memory space. You will need to load the ELF file to get addresses of your added variables. 

Regards,

Michal

[lancefisher]

Changing the TSA_SAFETY setting to 0 in freemaster_cfg.h allowed me to display variables in the .elf file. Thanks. -lance