ZPUTA (ZPU Test Application)
ZPUTA
ZPUTA started life as a simple test application to verify ZPU Evo and SoC hardware designs as they were being developed. It’s name is derived from ZPU Test Application and it has evolved over time from a simple program to something of a level of sophistication akin to an OS. It can be built as a single firmware image with all functionality within it or split with most functionality on a connected storage device such as an SD card. zOS was split from ZPUTA and had much of the internal functionality removed, relying on the external storage making it more suited to place into end projects.
Originally the ZPUTA/zOS developments only targetted the ZPU architecture and they had two primary methods of execution:
- as an application booted by IOCP,
- standalone booted as the ZPU Evo startup firmware.
The mode is chosen in the configuration and functionality is identical. When booted as an application by IOCP, zOS is stored on an SD card and loaded at boot time. When ‘standalone’ zOS is stored in the onboard Flash (or preconfigure BRAM acting as ROM).
More recently, zOS/ZPUTA was ported to the ARM Cortex-M4 architecture for use with the Freescale K64F on the tranZPUterSW project. As the K64F is a fixed architecture CPU / SoC only one method of execution exists, ‘standalone’, it is stored in the onboard Flash and started when the CPU powers up.
The idea behind ZPUTA is mainly that of testing, getting internal access to an embedded hardware system and running codelets to test or try hardware features. Each test would be built as an internal function and an external app, this was paramount due to the development boards being used. The Cyclone V based DE10-Nano FPGA board used to develop the ZPU Evo has more than 600KB of RAM memory wherease a Cyclone 10LP on the tranZPUter has only 120K of which a chunk is used as cache in the Evo design, thus the latter needs an SD card and external applications to test thoroughly. All functionality of ZPUTA can be enabled/disabled within the primary loaded image.
To operate, ZPUTA requires at least one serial connection (physical or usb-virtual), preferably two for debug output. On the primary serial connection it is preferable to have an ANSI/VT100 terminal emulator package connected. The requirement for an ANSI/VT100 terminal emulation package is to allow commands such as the editor or readline to function correctly. A dumb serial terminal will work fine but at reduced application functionality.
Using ZPUTA
The ZPUTA interface has been written keeping in mind that only a serial text based terminal is available. Some components such as the Editor need more advanced capabilities and to this end the venerable VT100 emulation was chosen as a suitable candidate (which means you need a VT100 emulator sat in front of the serial line in order to use the Editor). Interaction is keyboard and text based, (no nice GUI interfaces!) with the sections below providing information needed to use the interface.
Prior to ZPUTA, I created a bootstrap program called the IOCP (I/O Control Program) which operated at the lowest hardware levels and was able to boot more sophisticated programs, ie. ZPUTA. The IOCP is size sensitive and was designed to bootstrap from any memory device and by including an SD card and the Petit FatFS it is able to bootstrap off an SD card. IOCP was originally used to bootstrap ZPUTA, aiding development speed by just copying a ZPUTA kernel onto an SD card when a change was made but eventually I included the low level code into ZPUTA and it was able to boot as the primary software without needing IOCP. IOCP still remains within the project to boot any application not needing ZPUTA or zOS level of sophistication.
ZPUTA will remain with its original purpose, to aid in testing, whilst zOS will over time become more a refined OS for my own projects.
A few months ago the tranZPUterSW project was born as an offshoot from the tranZPUter in order to more rapidly forward the design in softwareapid development. This came in the shape of the Teensy 3.5 development board by PJRC.com or more importantly the Freescale K64F processor, an ARM Cortex-M4 CPU. This required quite a few changes to the source code to allow for two different processing architectures but it makes the OS more useable by 3rd parties in their own projects given the plethora of ARM development boards.
Command Line
The first introduction to the OS is a sign-on message which details the CPU, version etc and issues a prompt for command input, ie:
Interaction with the OS is no different than say MSDOS, you enter a command and get a response. The only difference is that it is within an embedded system not a full blown PC.
The ZPUTA command line is not a shell interpreter just a basic text interface provided for the issuing of built-in commands or commands stored on the SD card. It does include a cutdown readline capability with history to aid in command entering and retrieval and generally follows the GNU readline functionality, the recognised keys at the command line are:
Key | Action |
---|---|
CTRL-A | Go to start of line. |
CTRL-B | Move cursor one position to the left. |
CTRL-C | Abort current line and return CTRL-C to calling application. |
CTRL-D | Not defined in shell, passed to running application. |
CTRL-E | Go to end of line. |
CTRL-F | Move cursor one position to the right. |
CTRL-K | Clear the line. |
CTRL-N | Recall next historized command. |
CTRL-P | Recall previous historized command. |
HOME | Go to start of line. |
END | Go to end of line. |
INSERT | Not yet defined. |
DEL | Delete character under cursor. |
BACKSPACE | Delete character to left of cursor. |
PGUP | Not defined in shell, passed to running application. |
PGDOWN | Not defined in shell, passed to running application. |
ARROW UP | Recall previous historized command. |
ARROW DOWN | Recall next historized command. |
ARROW RIGHT | Move cursor one position to the right. |
ARROW LEFT | Move cursor one position to the left. |
The readline mechanism also recognises a few internal commands, namely:
Command | Action |
---|---|
!<number> | Recall and execute given historised command identified by <number>. |
hist[ory] | List the history buffer. |
Applications
The applications currently provided by ZPUTA reside on an SD card and are summarised below. For more detailed information please refer to the Application section (on the left navigation bar) or the Application README file.
-
Disk IO Commands
Command Parameters Description ddump [<pd#> <sect>] Dump a sector dinit* <pd#> [<card type>] Initialize disk dstat* <pd#> Show disk status dioctl* <pd#> ioctl(CTRL_SYNC) -
Disk Buffer Commands
Command Parameters Description bdump <ofs> Dump buffer bedit <ofs> [<data>] … Edit buffer bfill <val> Fill buffer blen <len> Set read/write length for fread/fwrite command bread <pd#> <sect> [<num>] Read into buffer bwrite <pd#> <sect> [<num>] Write buffer to disk -
Filesystem Commands
Command Parameters Description falloc <fsz> <opt> Allocate ctg blks to file fattr <atrr> <mask> <name> Change object attribute fcat <name> Output file contents fcd <path> Change current directory fclose Close the open file fconcat <src fn1> <src fn2> <dst fn> Concatenate 2 files fcp <src file> <dst file> Copy a file fdel <obj name> Delete an object fdir [<path>] Show a directory fdrive <path> Change current drive fdump <name> [<width>] Dump a file contents as hex fexec* <name> <ldAddr> <xAddr> <mode> Load and execute file finit* <ld#> [<mount>] Force init the volume finspect <len> Read part of file and examine flabel <label> Set volume label fload* <name> [<addr>] Load a file into memory fmkdir <dir name> Create a directory fmkfs <ld#> <type> <au> Create FAT volume fopen <mode> <file> Open a file fread <len> Read part of file into buffer frename <org name> <new name> Rename an object fsave <name> <addr> <len> Save memory range to a file fseek <ofs> Move fp in normal seek fshowdir Show current directory fstat [<path>] Show volume status ftime Change object timestamp ftrunc Truncate the file at current fp fwrite <len> <val> Write part of buffer into file fxtract <src> <dst> <start pos> <len> Extract a portion of file -
Memory Commands
Command Parameters Description mclear <start> <end> [<word>] Clear memory mcopy <start> <end> <dst addr> Copy memory mdiff <start> <end> <cmp addr> Compare memory mdump [<start> [<end>] [<size>]] Dump memory mperf <start> <end> [<width>] [<size>] Test memory performance.
This gives a value for the CPU <-> Memory, not actual memory performance. As the ZPU is stack based, it uses memory to perform a memory action, so it will never realise full memory bandwidth, hence the need for extended instructions such as LDIR.msrch <start> <end> <value> Search memory. mtest [<start> [<end>] [iter] [test mask] Test memory meb <addr> <byte> […] Edit memory (Bytes) meh <addr> <h-word> […] Edit memory (H-Word) mew <addr> <word> […] Edit memory (Word) -
Hardware Commands
Command Parameters Description hid Disable Interrupts hie Enable Interrupts hr Display Register Information ht Test uS Timer hfd Disable UART FIFO hfe Enable UART FIFO -
Performance Testing Commands
Command Parameters Description dhry Dhrystone Test v2.1 coremark CoreMark Test v1.0 -
Program Execution Commands
Command Parameters Description call” <addr> Call function @ <addr> jmp” <addr> Execute code @ <addr> -
Miscellaneous Commands
Command Parameters Description restart Restart application reset Reset system help [<cmd %>|<group %>] Show this screen info Config info time [<y> <m> <d> <h> <M> <s>] Set/Show current time -
Applications
Command Parameters Description ed <file> Basic WYSIWYG VT100 File Editor kilo <file> WYSIWYG VT100 File Editor mbasic [<file>] Interactive Mini-Basic Interpreter. tbasic Interactive tiny Basic Interpreter.
All commands with a (*) are built in to ZPUTA.
autoexec.bat
As per MSDOS, if a file of name ‘AUTOEXEC.BAT’ is created in the root directory (top level) of the SD filesystem the contents will be executed on ZPUTA at boot/reset. Use this file to automate setup and startup of your intended application. It currently has no in-built language, just issuing of commands.
Technical Detail
This section aims to provide some of the inner detail of the operating system to date. A lot of this information is the same in ZPUTA but as ZPUTA matures it will start to have significant differences.
Memory Organisation
IOCP Memory Map
ZPUTA is generally used in it’s ‘standalone’ guise, ie the OS boots up as the primary firmware on the K64F. On the ZPU to aid in more rapid development of ZPUTA, it is booted by IOCP and new ZPUTA images are just copied onto the SD card rather than reprogramming the FPGA.
Depending upon the memory model of IOCP used, the currently defined memory maps for IOCP are as follows:-
ZPUTA is loaded from the SD card by IOCP and resides typically 0x1000 bytes further in memory as opposed to when ZPUTA is the boot firmware. At time of writing, IOCP can only be used with the ZPU as it has not been ported to the K64F architecture.
ZPUTA Memory Map
ZPUTA running on the ZPU has the memory usage map as per the diagram below. ZPUTA resides in lower BRAM as the boot firmware with Stack/Heap at the top of useable BRAM (or RAM/SDRAM). An application is loaded at the defined load point in the build script which would typically be the start of RAM/SDRAM or BRAM if the FPGA is sufficiently large.
The memory usage map for the K64F processor is similar but Flash RAM and RAM are well defined not variable as per the ZPU.
Application Interface
As per most operating systems, ZPUTA provides an API which a suitably compiled application can use to decrease it’s size and complexity and reuse features within the OS such as the serial line connectivity.
Rather than designing a custom API set of methods, it made more sense to expose methods within ZPUTA to the application, ie. xprintf. An application calling xprintf to display output on the terminal will actually be calling xprintf within ZPUTA. This is made possible by creating a jump table at a fixed vector within ZPUTA. An application is then compiled with a set of macros to convert calls to xprintf to jumps into the ZPUTA vector table.
At the moment, these API methods are exposed:
Vector No | Method | Prototype | Description |
---|---|---|---|
000 | _break | Break handler. | When a breakpoint instruction is encountered, method to handle it. |
001 | _putchar | void putchar(char c) | Send a single character at the lowest level to serial output device. |
002 | xputc | void xputc (char c) | Normal method to write a single character to the output stream. |
003 | xfputc | void xfputc (void (*func)(unsigned char), char c) | Write a character to the specified output device or stream. |
004 | xputs | void xputs (const char* str) | Put a string onto the output stream. |
005 | xgets | int xgets (char* buff, int len) | Get a string from the input stream. |
006 | xfgets | int xfgets (unsigned char (func)(void), char buff, int len) | Get a string from the specified input device or stream. |
007 | xfputs | void xfputs (void (func)(unsigned char), const char str) | Put a string onto the specified output device or stream. |
008 | xatoi | int xatoi (char** str, long* res) | Convert a string into a long. String can be any format or base. |
009 | uxatoi | int uxatoi(char **, uint32_t *) | Convert a string into an unsigned 32bit. String can be any format or base. |
010 | xprintf | void xprintf (const char* fmt, …) | Print a formatted string onto the output stream. Floating point is not supported. |
011 | xvprintf | void xvprintf (const char*, va_list ) | Print a varargs formatted string onto the output stream. Floating point is not supported. |
012 | xsprintf | void xsprintf (char* buff, const char* fmt, …) | Print a formatted string into a string. Floating point is not supported. |
013 | xfprintf | void xfprintf (void (func)(unsigned char), const char fmt, …) | Print a formatted string onto the specified output device or stream. |
014 | getserial | char getserial(void) | Wait and Get a single character at the lowest level from the serial input device. |
015 | getserial_nonblocking | int8_t getserial_nonblocking(void) | Get a single character at the lowest level from the serial input device, return -1 if no character available. |
016 | crc32_init | unsigned int crc32_init(void) | Initialise a CRC32 generator. |
017 | crc32_addword | unsigned int crc32_addword(unsigned int crc_in, unsigned int word) | Add a word into the generated CRC32, returns the current CRC32 value after adding the word. |
018 | get_dword | unsigned int get_dword(void) | Get an unsigned 32bit word (binary format, big endian) from the serial input device. |
019 | rtcSet | uint8_t rtcSet(RTC *time) | Set the onboard Real Time Clock to the given date and time. |
020 | rtcGet | void rtcGet(RTC *time) | Get the current date and time from the onboard Real Time Clock. |
021 | f_open | f_open (FIL* fp, const TCHAR* path, BYTE mode) | Open or create a file |
022 | f_close | f_close (FIL* fp) | Close an open file object |
023 | f_read | f_read (FIL* fp, void* buff, UINT btr, UINT* br) | Read data from the file |
024 | f_write | f_write (FIL* fp, const void* buff, UINT btw, UINT* bw) | Write data to the file |
025 | f_lseek | f_lseek (FIL* fp, FSIZE_t ofs) | Move file pointer of the file object |
026 | f_truncate | f_truncate (FIL* fp) | Truncate the file |
027 | f_sync | f_sync (FIL* fp) | Flush cached data of the writing file |
028 | f_opendir | f_opendir (DIR* dp, const TCHAR* path) | Open a directory |
029 | f_closedir | f_closedir (DIR* dp) | Close an open directory |
030 | f_readdir | f_readdir (DIR* dp, FILINFO* fno) | Read a directory item |
031 | f_findfirst | f_findfirst (DIR* dp, FILINFO* fno, const TCHAR* path, const TCHAR* pattern) | Find first file |
032 | f_findnext | f_findnext (DIR* dp, FILINFO* fno) | Find next file |
033 | f_mkdir | f_mkdir (const TCHAR* path) | Create a sub directory |
034 | f_unlink | f_unlink (const TCHAR* path) | Delete an existing file or directory |
035 | f_rename | f_rename (const TCHAR* path_old, const TCHAR* path_new) | Rename/Move a file or directory |
036 | f_stat | f_stat (const TCHAR* path, FILINFO* fno) | Get file status |
037 | f_chmod | f_chmod (const TCHAR* path, BYTE attr, BYTE mask) | Change attribute of a file/dir |
038 | f_utime | f_utime (const TCHAR* path, const FILINFO* fno) | Change timestamp of a file/dir |
039 | f_chdir | f_chdir (const TCHAR* path) | Change current directory |
040 | f_chdrive | f_chdrive (const TCHAR* path) | Change current drive |
041 | f_getcwd | f_getcwd (TCHAR* buff, UINT len) | Get current directory |
042 | f_getfree | f_getfree (const TCHAR* path, DWORD* nclst, FATFS** fatfs) | Get number of free clusters on the drive |
043 | f_getlabel | f_getlabel (const TCHAR* path, TCHAR* label, DWORD* vsn) | Get volume label |
044 | f_setlabel | f_setlabel (const TCHAR* label) | Set volume label |
045 | f_forward | f_forward (FIL* fp, UINT(func)(const BYTE,UINT), UINT btf, UINT* bf) | Forward data to the stream |
046 | f_expand | f_expand (FIL* fp, FSIZE_t szf, BYTE opt) | Allocate a contiguous block to the file |
004 | f_mount | f_mount (FATFS* fs, const TCHAR* path, BYTE opt) | Mount/Unmount a logical drive |
007 | f_mkfs | f_mkfs (const TCHAR* path, BYTE opt, DWORD au, void* work, UINT len) | Create a FAT volume |
048 | f_fdisk | f_fdisk (BYTE pdrv, const DWORD* szt, void* work) | Divide a physical drive into some partitions |
049 | f_setcp | f_setcp (WORD cp) | Set current code page |
050 | f_putc | f_putc (TCHAR c, FIL* fp) | Put a character to the file |
051 | f_puts | f_puts (const TCHAR* str, FIL* cp) | Put a string to the file |
052 | f_printf | f_printf (FIL* fp, const TCHAR* str, …) | Put a formatted string to the file |
053 | f_gets | f_gets (TCHAR* buff, int len, FIL* fp) | Get a string from the file |
054 | disk_read | DRESULT disk_read ( BYTE drv, BYTE *buff, DWORD sector, UINT count ) | Read full or partial sectors directly from the SD card |
055 | disk_write | DRESULT disk_write ( BYTE drv, const BYTE *buff, DWORD sector, UINT count ) | Write full or partial sectors directly to the SD card |
056 | disk_ioctl | DRESULT disk_ioctl ( BYTE drv, BYTE ctrl, void *buff ) | Issue direct control commands to the SD card. |
057 | getStrParam | char *getStrParam(char **ptr) | Get a pointer within a string parameter list of the next string parameter. The pointer to the string parameter list is updated to point to the next+1 parameter. within a passed parameter string. |
058 | getUintParam | uint32_t getUintParam(char **ptr) | Get the next 32bit unsigned integer from a string parameter list. The pointer to the string parameter list is updated to point to the next+1 parameter. |
059 | set_serial_output | __inline void set_serial_output(uint8_t c) | For boards with more than 1 serial port, assign the given device as the primary output stream device. |
060 | printBytesPerSec | void printBytesPerSec(uint32_t bytes, uint32_t mSec, const char *action) | Calculate and print the performance of an SD card transaction. |
061 | printFSCode | void printFSCode(FRESULT result) | Print as text the result code from the Fat FS calls. |
As well as the above methods, two global parameter blocks are exposed and passed to the application which it can freely use. These are:
The global parameter block, accessed by the variable G:
// Global parameters accessible in applications.
typedef struct {
uint8_t fileInUse; /* Flag to indicate if file[0] is in use. */
FIL File[MAX_FILE_HANDLE]; /* Maximum open file objects */
FATFS FatFs[FF_VOLUMES]; /* Filesystem object for each logical drive */
BYTE Buff[512]; /* Working disk buffer */
DWORD Sector; /* Sector to read */
#if defined __K64F__
uint32_t volatile *millis; /* Pointer to the K64F millisecond tick */
#endif
} GLOBALS;
An example of use within a program would be: xprintf(“Sector:%d\n”, G->Sector);
The configuration block, accessed by the variable cfgSoC:
// Configuration values.
typedef struct
{
uint32_t addrInsnBRAM;
uint32_t sizeInsnBRAM;
uint32_t addrBRAM;
uint32_t sizeBRAM;
uint32_t addrRAM;
uint32_t sizeRAM;
uint32_t addrSDRAM;
uint32_t sizeSDRAM;
uint32_t addrWBSDRAM;
uint32_t sizeWBSDRAM;
uint32_t resetVector;
uint32_t cpuMemBaseAddr;
uint32_t stackStartAddr;
uint16_t zpuId;
uint32_t sysFreq;
uint32_t memFreq;
uint32_t wbMemFreq;
uint8_t implSoCCFG;
uint8_t implWB;
uint8_t implWBSDRAM;
uint8_t implWBI2C;
uint8_t implInsnBRAM;
uint8_t implBRAM;
uint8_t implRAM;
uint8_t implSDRAM;
uint8_t implIOCTL;
uint8_t implPS2;
uint8_t implSPI;
uint8_t implSD;
uint8_t sdCardNo;
uint8_t implIntrCtl;
uint8_t intrChannels;
uint8_t implTimer1;
uint8_t timer1No;
} SOC_CONFIG;
An example of use in a program would be: if(cfgSoC->implSDRAM) { … }
To build an application, it is the same as creating a normal C program (C++ to follow) but instead of using the standard ‘main’ entry point with argument list a new method has been provided, namely ‘app’. This has the prototype:
uint32_t app(uint32_t param1, uint32_t param2)
param1 and param2 can be any 32bit value passed when fileExec is called within ZPUTA. Under standard operating conditions, ZPUTA calls an application with one parameter only, param1 which is a (char *) pointer to the command line parameters which invoked the application.
The return code from the application to ZPUTA is a 32bit unsigned integer. 0 means the application executed successfully, 0xFFFFFFFF indicates a failure and anything inbetween is for reference or to be used by future commands for conditional processing.
The standard template for an app() is as follows:
// Main entry and start point of a zOS/ZPUTA Application. Only 2 parameters are catered for and a 32bit return code, additional parameters can be added by changing the appcrt0.s
// startup code to add them to the stack prior to app() call.
//
// Return code for the ZPU is saved in _memreg by the C compiler, this is transferred to _memreg in zOS/ZPUTA in appcrt0.s prior to return.
// The K64F ARM processor uses the standard register passing conventions, return code is stored in R0.
//
uint32_t app(uint32_t param1, uint32_t param2)
{
// Initialisation.
//
char *ptr = (char *)param1;
long startAddr;
long endAddr;
long bitWidth;
long xferSize;
#if defined __K64F__
uint32_t perfTime;
#endif
uint32_t retCode = 0;
if (!xatoi(&ptr, &startAddr))
{
xprintf("Illegal <start addr> value.\n");
retCode = 0xFFFFFFFF;
} else if (!xatoi(&ptr, &endAddr))
{
xprintf("Illegal <end addr> value.\n");
retCode = 0xFFFFFFFF;
} else
{
xatoi(&ptr, &bitWidth);
if(bitWidth != 8 && bitWidth != 16 && bitWidth != 32)
{
bitWidth = 32;
}
if(!xatoi(&ptr, &xferSize))
{
xferSize = 10;
}
}
... application logic
return(retCode);
}
Software Build
Paths
For ease of reading, the following shortnames refer to the corresponding path in this chapter.
Short Name | |
---|---|
[<ABS PATH>] | The path where this repository was extracted on your system. |
<apps> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/apps |
<build> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/build |
<common> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/common |
<libraries> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/libraries |
<teensy3> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/teensy3 |
<include> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/include |
<startup> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/startup |
<iocp> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/iocp |
<zOS> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/zOS |
<zputa> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/zputa |
<rtl> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/rtl |
<docs> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/docs |
<tools> | [<ABS PATH>]/zsoft/tools |
Tools
All development has been made under Linux, specifically Debian/Ubuntu. Besides the standard Linux buildchain, the following software is needed.
ZPU GCC ToolChain | The GCC toolchain for ZPU development. Install into /opt or similar common area. |
Arduino | The Arduino development environment, not really needed unless adding features to the K64F version of zOS from the extensive Arduino library. Not really needed, more for reference. |
Teensyduino | The Teensy3 Arduino extensions to work with the Teensy3.5 board at the Arduino level. Not really needed, more for reference. |
For the Teensy3.5/K64F the ARM compatible toolchain is stored in the repo within the build tree.
Build Tree
The software is organised into the following tree/folders:
Folder | Src File | Description |
---|---|---|
apps | The zOS/ZPUTA applications applets tree. These are separate standalone disk based applets which run under zOS/ZPUTA. All applets for zOS/ZPUTA are stored within this folder. |
|
build | Build tree output suitable for direct copy to an SD card. The initial bootloader and/or application as selected are compiled directly into a VHDL file for preloading in BRAM in the devices/sysbus/BRAM folder. |
|
common | Common C modules such as Elm Chan’s excellent Fat FileSystem. | |
docs | All documents relevant to this project. | |
libraries | Code libraries, soon to be populated with umlibc and FreeRTOS | |
rtl | Register Transfer Level templates and generated files. These files contain the preloaded VHDL definition of a BRAM based RAM/ROM used with the ZPU. | |
teensy3 | Teensy 3.5 files required for building a K64F processor target. | |
include | C Include header files. | |
iocp | A small bootloader/monitor application for initialization of the ZPU. Depending upon configuration this program can either boot an application from SD card or via the Serial Line and also provide basic tools such as memory examination. | |
startup | Assembler and Linker files for generating ZPU applications. These files are critical for defining how GCC creates and links binary images as well as providing the micro-code for ZPU instructions not implemented in hardware. | |
tools | Some small tools for converting binary images into VHDL initialization data. | |
zputa | The ZPU Test Application. This is an application for testing the ZPU and the SoC components. It can either be built as a single image for pre-loading into a BRAM via VHDL or as a standalone application loaded by the IOCP bootloader from an SD card. The services it provides can either be embedded or available on the SD card as applets depending on memory restrictions. | |
zOS | The z-Operating System. This is a light OS derived from ZPUTA with the aim of providing a framework, both for application building and runtime control, within a ZPU or K64F project. The OS provides disk based services, common hardware access API and additional features to run and service any application built for this enviroment. Applications can be started autonomously or interactively via the serial based VT100 console. | |
build.sh | Unix shell script to build IOCP, zOS, ZPUTA and Apps for a given design.![]() |
Build.sh
ZPUTA is built using the ‘build.sh’ script. This script encapsulates the Makefile system with it’s plethora of flags and options. The synopsis of the script is below:
NAME
build.sh - Shell script to build a ZPU/K64F program or OS.
SYNOPSIS
build.sh [-CIOoMBAsdxh]
DESCRIPTION
OPTIONS
-C <CPU> = Small, Medium, Flex, Evo, K64F - defaults to Evo.
-I <iocp ver> = 0 - Full, 1 - Medium, 2 - Minimum, 3 - Tiny (bootstrap only)
-O <os> = zputa, zos
-o <os ver> = 0 - Standalone, 1 - As app with IOCP Bootloader,
2 - As app with tiny IOCP Bootloader, 3 - As app in RAM
-M <size> = Max size of the boot ROM/BRAM (needed for setting Stack).
-B <addr> = Base address of <os>, default -o == 0 : 0x00000 else 0x01000
-A <addr> = App address of <os>, default 0x0C000
-N <size> = Required size of heap
-n <size> = Required size of application heap
-S <size> = Required size of stack
-s <size> = Required size of application stack
-a <size> = Maximum size of an app, defaults to (BRAM SIZE - App Start Address - Stack Size)
if the App Start is located within BRAM otherwise defaults to 0x10000.
-d = Debug mode.
-x = Shell trace mode.
-h = This help screen.
EXAMPLES
build.sh -O zputa -B 0x00000 -A 0x50000
EXIT STATUS
0 The command ran successfully
>0 An error ocurred.
Sensible defaults are configured into the script, the overriding flags are described below.
Flag | Description |
---|---|
-C <CPU> | The target CPU of the finished image. This flag is necessary As each ZPU has a different configuration and therefore the underlying Make needs to be directed into its choice of startup code and configuration. With the inclusion of the ARM based K64F this flag makes further sense. The choices are: Small - An absolute minimum ZPU hardware design with most instructions implemented in microcode. Medium - An interim ZPU design using more hardware and better performance, majority of instructions are embedded in hardware. Flex - A ZPU small based design but with many enhanced features, including the majority of instructions being embedded in hardware. Evo - The latest evolution of the ZPU, all instructions are embedded in hardware, framework to add extended instructions and 2 stage cache to aid performance. K64F - An ARM Cortex-M4 based processor from Freescale. Evo is the detault. |
-I <iocp ver> | Set the memory model for the build. The memory models are described above. The choices are: 0- Full 1 - Medium 2 - Minimum 3 - Tiny (bootstrap only). Default is set to 3. |
-O <os> | Set the target operating system. The choices are: zputa - The ZPU Test Application which also runs on the K64F. zos - The zOS Operating System. There is no default, if an OS is being built then this flag must be given. |
-o <os ver> | Set the operating system target model. The choices are: 0 - Standalone, the operating system is the startup firmware. 1 - As app with IOCP Bootloader, the operating system is booted by IOCP from an SD card, IOCP remains memory resident. 2 - As app with tiny IOCP Bootloader, the operating system is booted from SD card by the smallest IOCP possible, IOCP remains memory resident. 3 - As app in RAM, the operating system is targetted to be loaded in external (to the FPGA) RAM, either static or dynamic, IOCP remains memory resident in BRAM. The default is 2. This flag has no meaning for the K64F target. |
-M <size> | Specify the maximum size of the boot ROM/BRAM (needed for setting Stack). This flag has no meaning on the K64F target. |
-B <addr> | Base address of <os>. default: if -o == 0 : 0x00000 else 0x01000 This flag has no meaning on the K64F target. |
-A <addr> | App starting/load address for the given <os>. default 0x0C000 for ZPU, 0x1FFF0000 for K64F |
-N <size> | Required size of <os> heap. The OS and application heaps are currently distinct. Should RTOS be integrated into zOS then this will change. |
-n <size> | Required size of application heap. The application has a seperate heap allocated and is managed by the application. |
-S <size> | Required size of stack. Normally the <os> manages the stack which is also used by an application. If the application is considered dangerous then it should be allocated a local stack. |
-s <size> | Required size of application stack. Normally this should not be required as the application shares the <os> stack. If the application is dangerous then set this value to allocate a local stack. |
-a <size> | Maximum size of an application. defaults to (BRAM SIZE - App Start Address - Stack Size) for the ZPU if the App Start is located within BRAM otherwise defaults to 0x10000, or 0x20030000 - Stack Size - Heap Size - 0x4000 for the K64F. If the App Start is located within BRAM otherwise defaults to 0x10000. |
-d | Debug mode. Enable more verbose output on state and decisions made by the script. |
-x | Shell trace mode. A very low level, line by line trace of shell execution. Only used during debugging. |
-h | This help screen. |
Jenkins can be used to automate the build but for simple get up and go compilation use the build.sh and the underlying hierarchical Makefile system by following the basic instructions here.
- Download and install the ZPU GCC ToolChain. Install into /opt or similar common area.
- Setup the environment variable path.
export PATH=$PATH:/opt/zpu/bin
- Clone the zSoft repository
- Edit the <zputa>/src/zputa.h file and select which functions you want building into the zputa core image (by default, all functions are built as applets but these will be ignored if they are built into the zputa core image). You select a function by setting the BUILTIN_
to '1', set to '0' if you dont want it built in. - Decide which memory map you want to use and wether ZPUTA will be an application or bootloader (for your own applications, it is they same kind of choice), see build.sh in the table above for options. Once decided, issue the build command.
cd [ABS PATH] # For this build we have chosen a Tiny IOCP Bootloader, building ZPUTA as an # application with a Tiny IOCP bootloader, the ZPUTA Base Address is 0x1000 # and the address where Applets are loaded and executed is at 0xC000 ./build.sh -I 3 -O zputa -o 2 -B 0x1000 -A 0xC000 # The build command automatically creates the VHDL BRAM images with the IOCP # Bootloader installed, thus you will need to build the ZPU Evo SOF bit stream # and upload it to the FPGA in order for the new Bootloader to be active.
- Place an SD Card into your system and format it for FAT32 format then copy the files onto it.
cd build/SD cp -r * <abs path to SD card, ie. /media/psmart/ZPU> # eject the SD card and install it into the SD card reader on your FPGA dev board.
Credits
Where I have used or based any component on a 3rd parties design I have included the original authors copyright notice within the headers or given due credit. All 3rd party software, to my knowledge and research, is open source and freely useable, if there is found to be any component with licensing restrictions, it will be removed from this repository and a suitable link/config provided.
Licenses
The original ZPU uses the Free BSD license and such the Evo is also released under FreeBSD. SoC components and other developments written by me are currently licensed using the GPL. 3rd party components maintain their original copyright notices.
The FreeBSD license
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
- Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
- Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS’’ AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE ZPU PROJECT OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
The views and conclusions contained in the software and documentation are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing official policies, either expressed or implied, of the this project.
The Gnu Public License v3
The source and binary files in this project marked as GPL v3 are free software: you can redistribute it and-or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
The source files are distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.