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RE: Creating eCos flash application image for AT91EB40aRedboot


On Fri, 2003-05-23 at 17:37, Øyvind Harboe wrote:
> > 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! 

Which, by the way, is completely feasible today with the command
set already in RedBoot, including such esoterics as connecting
via telnet, etc.  

> 
> 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. :-)
> 

As I said before, you have the source so feel free.

-- 
Gary D. Thomas <gary.thomas@mind.be>


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