getting started

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by dhenry on Sun Sep 04 04:32:19 MST 2011
Hi, all:

I am an old hand at doing this. Very experienced in the 8-bit world. But my customers are migrating away and it is tough to make a living there.

I thought I might make enough money in the 32-bit world so I am starting to learn. Just got myself some NXP and other ARM boards.

How should I go about getting it started on a 1768?

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by ktownsend on Tue Sep 13 12:13:09 MST 2011
While I'm the last one to discourage anyone from reading the UM, if you're completely new to ARM but have "20+ years experience" in embedded SW, why not start with the easiest thing and learn from the example code provided by NXP?  There are a lot of example covering almost all the peripherals, and it's definately a lot more rewarding getting something to work on day one and looking up registers on an as-needed basis?

There's a moment when you really need to dig into the UM cover to cover (I've read the 1114, 1343 and 1768 UMs and datasheets cover to cover several times each and still don't understand some peripherals as well as I'd like) ... but code is a far better intructor getting started.

Make sure you look at the Keil examples in addition to the LPCXpresso ones. There are sometimes differences, and because the Keil examples are generally written first they are sometimes more 'complete', though GCC and LPCXpresso is obviously the more portable route:

http://ics.nxp.com/support/documents/microcontrollers/?scope=LPC1768

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by vasanth on Tue Sep 13 11:13:50 MST 2011
or maybe an LPC1313...:)

(if USB or CAN is not required)

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by ArneB on Tue Sep 13 05:56:07 MST 2011
As a starting point for exploring the 32-Bit ARM world, I would suggest to go for the LPC1114. The peripherals are similar to the 8051/AVR/PIC ones, but much more powerful and flexible. Nevertheless, this chip is not as complex as the LPC1768. Buy a LPC1114 LPCXpresso board (http://www.embeddedartists.com/products/lpcxpresso/lpc1114_xpr.php), it is really cheap (20 €) and a full blown IDE including compiler, assembler, linker, edit etc. is included for free, as well as a HW debugging interface (LPC-Link).
We are using a lot of these boards for rapid prototyping and testing, it really makes fun !

Just some recommendations of a mid-age HW/SW engineer... :cool:

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by dhenry on Tue Sep 13 02:08:01 MST 2011

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LPC176x - 840 pages  (32-bit, Ethernet, CAN, USB and much more...)

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Looks like I picked the wrong part: LPC1768 is exponentially more difficult than PIC.

I stayed in the basement the whole weekend, kicked out the kids and dog. I am still on Chapter 4 / clocking options.

Quite frankly, I do not remember a thing, :(.

I hope one of my customers will help fund my training on this new part.

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by vasanth on Fri Sep 09 22:58:15 MST 2011
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I came from 8-bit PIC world. I switched to LPC1300 and LPC1100 series in 2010. These are the some of the best 32 bit ARM Cortex-M micros for 8-bitters.
Similar kind of peripherals, if not better. Much greater performance. Easy to program. Lower cost than 8-bit.

        To get started just buy an LPCXpressoLPC1343 and/or LPCXpressoLPC1114. Have a look at the lpcxpresso introduction video   http://ics.nxp.com/lpcxpresso/#MoreInfo    and you are off.
You can make another switch later to LPC1700 series if you need more peripherals and performance. If you need still higher performance you can go for LPC1800 and later to LPC4300 (dual core). The road map is clean.

         Here is a useful comparison of the datasheet size in pages (~complexity). Here in LPC world it is called as user manual.

PIC18F4x - 412 pages  :eek: (8-bit, general purpose)
LPC13xx - 368 pages :) (32-bit, general purpose, USB )
LPC11xx - 414 pages :) (32-bit, general purpose, CAN / USB)
LPC176x - 840 pages :) (32-bit, Ethernet, CAN, USB and much more...)

Best Regards,
Vasanth

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[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by rmteo on Fri Sep 09 20:14:52 MST 2011
If you think the LPC1768 is complex, take a look at the registers in a FreeScale iMX53x processor http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=i.MX538&fpsp=1&tab=Documentation_Tab (check out the IMX53RM Reference Manual, 49MB, 4,947 pages) and you will feel much better. :)

Seriously though, more powerful MCU's are going to be more complex to work with.  Though with your 20 year embedded background, you are should be able to handle it without too much problems.

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by dhenry on Fri Sep 09 15:48:37 MST 2011
Thanks everyone for your excellent suggestions / links and support.

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as 32-bit sales far outstrip 8-bit.

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I hope you are right. My 1991 Ford Taurus station wagon is not exactly a chic magnet - I desperately need something more fitting to my image.

I am going through the LPC1768 datasheet and was completely overwhelmed by the chip's complexity. So many registers to operate just a port! You don't need any of that in the 8051 world.

Even an experienced programmer like me finds it challenging and you gurus must be super smart to have mastered those chips.

Any tricks / tips in getting up to speed faster?

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by igorsk on Mon Sep 05 04:51:19 MST 2011
ARM has a couple of helpful documents on this topic.
Migrating from 8051 to Cortex Microcontrollers
Migrating from PIC Microcontrollers to Cortex-M3
Cortex™-M3 Embedded Software Development

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by aravinda1023 on Sun Sep 04 20:30:30 MST 2011
You have made the right decision to move into 32bit world.

Its better if you can study a bit about ARM Cortex-M3 and then study about LPC1768 board.

If you want to study about ARM Cortex-M3 use following ebook:
http://ebookee.org/The-Definitive-Guide-to-the-ARM-Cortex-M3-Second-Edition_687179.html

Go through example codes and study them. That is the best way to study about NXP LPC1768. (Use LPC17xx user manual  also)

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by rmteo on Sun Sep 04 08:02:09 MST 2011

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Quote: dhenry
....I thought I might make enough money in the 32-bit world so I am starting to learn.

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You have made the right decision as 32-bit sales far outstrip 8-bit.  The interesting thing is that there are 32-bit ARM Cortex-M devices that actually cost less than 8-bit devices.

Even though working with PICs can be challenging at times, the variety of Cortex-M devices from the large number of licensees (see image below) as well as toolchains from different sources can be overwhelming.  The upside is that you have a much larger range of price/performance/features at your disposal.  I would strongly suggest taking a look at offerings from the other manufacturers before taking the plunge.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome - and be glad that you did so.

[lpcware]

Content originally posted in LPCWare by Ex-Zero on Sun Sep 04 05:27:52 MST 2011

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But my customers are migrating away and it is tough to make a living there.

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You're late :eek:

A simple way to start is to use a LPCXpresso1769 and look a the examples to get familiar with registers and all this stuff.
That's not really new for you but a lot of things are different and it's important to get familiar with registers, Eclipse, debugging...

That's what I did 2009 (after decades of 8-bit). I think as professional you are aware that's migrating isn't done in a week
and not easy. But as an old dog you are probably also impressed by a lot of new features (we missed 20 years ago) :)

A lot of questions are answered at CODE RED Wiki:

http://support.code-red-tech.com/CodeRedWiki/WikiHome

or in this forum :)