This is a port of MicroPython to the Nordic Semiconductor nRF series of chips.
Prerequisite steps for building the nrf port:
git clone <URL>.git micropython cd micropython make -C mpy-cross
By default, the PCA10040 (nrf52832) is used as compile target. To build and flash issue the following command inside the ports/nrf/ folder:
make submodules make make deploy
Alternatively the target board could be defined:
make submodules make BOARD=PCA10040 make BOARD=PCA10040 deploy
As a space optimization, LTO (Link Time Optimization) has been enabled on all targets in the nrf-port. The -flto linker flag can be toggled easily by using the argument LTO when building. The example below shows how to disable LTO for the compilation:
make BOARD=PCA10040 LTO=0
Note: There have been several issues with use of LTO in conjunction with GNU ARM Embedded Toolchain 7.2.1/4Q17. It's recommended to use a toolchain after this release, for example 7.3.1/2Q18 or 8.2.1/4Q18. The alternative would be to build the target using the LTO=0 as described above.
First prepare the bluetooth folder by downloading Bluetooth LE stacks and headers:
./drivers/bluetooth/download_ble_stack.sh
If the Bluetooth stacks has been downloaded, compile the target with the following command:
make BOARD=PCA10040 SD=s132
The make sd will trigger a flash of the bluetooth stack before that application is flashed. Note that make sd will perform a full erase of the chip, which could cause 3rd party bootloaders to also be wiped.
make BOARD=PCA10040 SD=s132 sd
Note: further tuning of features to include in bluetooth or even setting up the device to use REPL over Bluetooth can be configured in the bluetooth_conf.h.
Freeze manifests can be used by defining FROZEN_MANIFEST pointing to a manifest.py. This can either be done by a make invocation or by defining it in the specific target board's mpconfigboard.mk.
For example:
make BOARD=PCA10040 FROZEN_MANIFEST=path/to/manifest.py
In case of using the target board's makefile, add a line similar to this:
FROZEN_MANIFEST ?= $(BOARD_DIR)/manifest.py
In these two examples, the manual make invocation will have precedence.
As the oofatfs module is not having header guards that can exclude the implementation compile time, this port provides a flag to enable it explicitly. The MICROPY_VFS_FAT is by default set to 0 and has to be set to 1 if oofatfs files should be compiled. This will be in addition of setting MICROPY_VFS in mpconfigport.h.
For example:
make BOARD=PCA10040 MICROPY_VFS_FAT=1
In order to enable littlefs as device flash filesystem, MICROPY_VFS_LFS1 or MICROPY_VFS_LFS2 can be set. This will be in addition of setting MICROPY_VFS in mpconfigport.h or mpconfigboard.h.
For example:
make BOARD=PCA10056 MICROPY_VFS_LFS2=1
The size of the file system on the internal flash is configured by the linker script parameter _fs_size. This can either be overridden by the linker script or dynamically through the makefile. By setting a value to the FS_SIZE. The number will be passed directly to the linker scripts in order to calculate the start and end of the file system. Note that the parameter value must be in linker script syntax as it is passed directly.
For example, if we want to override the default file system size set by the linker scripts to use 256K:
make BOARD=PCA10056 MICROPY_VFS_LFS2=1 FS_SIZE=256K
Also note that changing this size between builds might cause loss of files present from a previous firmware as it will format the file system due to a new location.
| Target Board (BOARD) | Bluetooth Stack (SD) | Bluetooth Support | Bootloader | Default Flash Util |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MICROBIT | s110 | Peripheral | PyOCD | |
| PCA10000 | s110 | Peripheral | Segger | |
| PCA10001 | s110 | Peripheral | Segger | |
| PCA10028 | s110 | Peripheral | Segger | |
| PCA10031 | s110 | Peripheral | Segger | |
| WT51822_S4AT | s110 | Peripheral | Manual, see datasheet for pinout | |
| PCA10040 | s132 | Peripheral and Central | Segger | |
| FEATHER52 | s132 | Peripheral and Central | Manual, SWDIO and SWCLK solder points on the bottom side of the board | |
| ARDUINO_PRIMO | s132 | Peripheral and Central | PyOCD | |
| IBK_BLYST_NANO | s132 | Peripheral and Central | IDAP | |
| IDK_BLYST_NANO | s132 | Peripheral and Central | IDAP | |
| BLUEIO_TAG_EVIM | s132 | Peripheral and Central | IDAP | |
| EVK_NINA_B1 | s132 | Peripheral and Central | Segger | |
| PCA10056 | s140 | Peripheral and Central | Segger | |
| PCA10059 | s140 | Peripheral and Central | OpenBootloader | nrfutil |
| PARTICLE_XENON | s140 | Peripheral and Central | Black Magic Probe | |
| NRF52840_MDK_USB_DONGLE | s140 | Peripheral and Central | OpenBootloader | nrfutil |
| PCA10090 | None (bsdlib.a) | None (LTE/GNSS) | Segger | |
| ACTINIUS_ICARUS | None (bsdlib.a) | None (LTE/GNSS) | Segger |
Install the necessary tools to flash and debug using IDAP-M/IDAP-Link CMSIS-DAP Debug JTAG:
IDAPnRFProg for Linux IDAPnRFProg for OSX IDAPnRFProg for Windows
Install the necessary tools to flash and debug using Segger:
note: On Linux it might be required to link SEGGER's libjlinkarm.so inside nrfjprog's folder.
Install the necessary tools to flash and debug using OpenOCD:
sudo apt-get install openocd sudo pip install pyOCD
This requires no further dependencies other than arm-none-eabi-gdb.
make deploy will use gdb to load and run new firmware. See this guide for more tips about using the BMP with GDB.
Install the necessary Python packages that will be used for flashing using the bootloader:
sudo pip install nrfutil sudo pip install intelhex
The intelhex provides the hexmerge.py utility which is used by the Makefile to trim of the MBR in case SoftDevice flashing is requested.
nrfutil as flashing backend also requires a serial port parameter to be defined in addition to the deploy target of make. For example:
make BOARD=NRF52840_MDK_USB_DONGLE NRFUTIL_PORT=/dev/ttyACM0 deploy
If the target device is connected to /dev/ttyACM0 serial port, the NRFUTIL_PORT parameter to make can be elided as it is the default serial port set by the Makefile.
When enabling Bluetooth LE, as with the other flash utils, the SoftDevice needs to be flashed in the first firmware update. This can be done by issuing the sd target instead of deploy. For example:
make BOARD=NRF52840_MDK_USB_DONGLE SD=s140 NRFUTIL_PORT=/dev/ttyACM0 sd
The port also implements a BLE REPL driver. This feature is disabled by default, as it will deactivate the UART REPL when activated. As some of the nRF devices only have one UART, using the BLE REPL free's the UART instance such that it can be used as a general UART peripheral not bound to REPL.
The configuration can be enabled by editing the bluetooth_conf.h and set MICROPY_PY_BLE_NUS to 1.
When enabled you have different options to test it:
Other:
WebBluetooth mode can also be configured by editing bluetooth_conf.h and set BLUETOOTH_WEBBLUETOOTH_REPL to 1. This will alternate advertisement between Eddystone URL and regular connectable advertisement. The Eddystone URL will point the phone or PC to download WebBluetooth REPL (experimental), which subsequently can be used to connect to the Bluetooth REPL from the PC or Phone browser.
Software Pins 0-31 correspond to physical pins 0.x and software Pins 32-47 correspond to physical pins 1.x.
Example: Pin(47) would be 1.15 on the PCA10059