Astrobe for Cortex-M3

ARM Cortex-M3 Oberon Development System for Windows

Version 4.5.0 Copyright © 2006-2013 CFB Software
Last Updated 14 Sep 2013

Contents

1. Introduction
2. System Requirements
3. List of Files
4. Installation
5. Technical Support
6. Licence Agreement
7. Ordering Information
8. Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

Astrobe for Cortex-M3 is a fast and responsive integrated development environment for Windows. It is designed to be used to write software to run on the powerful ARM Cortex-M3 family of microcontrollers.  The programming language supported by Astrobe is Oberon. 

The Oberon Language

Oberon is a general-purpose, procedural programming language. Its type-safety, module consistency-checking and predictable code-generation features facilitate the development of secure and reliable software. Oberon is a refinement of Modula-2 which, in turn, was an improved version of Pascal. Programmers with experience of either of these languages should adapt to Oberon with minimal effort. In additional to the usual range of data types and programming language facilities Oberon features include:

• Type-extension capabilities
• Assertions for validating input / output parameters
• Automatic array index checking
• Type-checking / consistency validation across modules
• Read-only access to external global variables
• Support for 32-bit REAL data type
• Optional read-only access to parameters
• Direct assignment of structured types (arrays and records)
• Nested procedures
• Nested comments

The implementation of Oberon which targets the Cortex-M3 microcontrollers includes additional features particularly designed for efficient code-generation, low-level programming, debugging and access to advanced capabilities of the devices without the need for assembly language or C. 

• Generation of regular 32-bit Thumb2 native code
• Leaf procedures store parameters and local variables in registers when execution speed is a priority
• Explicit read / write access to memory-mapped peripheral device registers 
• Interrupt procedures
• Runtime error trapping pinpoints faults by module name and line number
• Debug trace statements output to UART0 
• Byte-level access to complex data-structures
• Direct access to the program counter, frame pointer, link register and other special ARM registers

The standard library modules and linker included with Astrobe support a range of Cortex-M3 microcontrollers and related development boards.

Astrobe Features

Astrobe has the following features:

Editing 

• Standard Windows, programmer-oriented, text-editing features
• Fast and responsive interactive operation
• Tabbed multi-document interface for editing multiple source files
• Split-screen editing
• Regular expression support in Find / Replace
• Bookmarks
• Line modification indicators
• Optional line numbers, printing features etc. etc.

Language Syntax-oriented Editing 

• Automatic syntax colouring of Oberon language elements as you type 
• Auto-indexing of procedures and imports of each source file for code navigation
• Auto-capitalisation of Oberon keywords when typing source code

Development

• Control Editing, Compiling, Linking / Building generation cycle from the menu
• Capture compilation errors in a separate window
• Click on an error line to take you to the actual line in the source  
• The automated Build feature ensures outdated modules are recompiled before linking without the need for complicated make files, command line parameters etc. etc.
• The Upload feature programs the flash memory of the target ARM microcontroller using its In-System Programming (ISP) commands
• Automatically starts the bootloader via UART control signals if supported by the development board
• Built-in serial communication terminal window to display text output, receive user input and display assertions and runtime error messages
• Generates HEX files and BIN files for optional use with 3rd-party tools 
• Module disassembler to help fine-tune the size or performance of a module
• Optional command-line compiler and linker for use with batch files and 'make' tools.

2. System Requirements

Astrobe is supported on 32-bit or 64-bit Intel versions of Microsoft Windows 8 / 7 / Vista / XP.

• Adobe Acrobat Reader (or other software that can read PDF files)
  
• Although not a requirement, the Microsoft Consolas font is recommended for use in the IDE. It is designed for programming environments and other circumstances where a monospaced font is useful. It is the font used in the Astrobe screenshots, syntax diagrams and Oberon Quick Reference.

• Adobe Acrobat Reader (or other software that can read PDF files)
  
• If you are using Windows XP and do not yet have the .NET Framework version 2.0 installed on your system you need to download it from Microsoft's website:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa731542.aspx

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3. List of Files

After running the Astrobe setup installation setup program the following files are created in the folder that you are asked to specify:

The subfolders which contain the library and example modules are created within your Windows Documents\AstrobeM3-v4.5.0 folder.

The examples are described in the Documents\AstrobeM3-v4.5.0\ReadMe.htm file.

The library modules are described in the Library Modules chapter in the Oberon for Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers document on the Windows Start > Astrobe menu and the Astrobe Help menu.

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4. Installation

Astrobe for Cortex-M3 is distributed as a self-installing file:

• AstrobeM3EvalSetup.exe (Evaluation Edition)
• AstrobeM3StarterSetup.exe (Starter Edition)
• AstrobeM3PersonalSetup.exe (Personal Edition)
• AstrobeM3ProfSetup.exe (Professional Edition)
  

1. Login to your system using an account with Administrator privileges that you will use when running Astrobe.
    
2. If you are using Windows XP make sure that the prerequisite software (see System Requirements above) is installed on your system.
   
3. Exit all Windows programs.
   
4. Run the Astrobe setup file e.g. AstrobeM3EvalSetup.exe
    
5. Press the Next button, and follow the prompts.
    
6. When the installation program has completed, run Astrobe by selecting it from the Windows Start menu.
    

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5. Technical Support

If you have any technical questions related to Astrobe for Cortex-M3, the Oberon language, or programming Cortex-M3 microcontrollers using Astrobe go to the Astrobe Technical Support webpage for details of how to get support.

6. License Agreement

You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before using this software. Your use of this software indicates your acceptance of this license agreement and disclaimer.

• Evaluation Edition

You may use the Evaluation Edition for a period of up to 30 days. There are no restrictions to the number of computers on which the Evaluation Edition of Astrobe for Cortex-M3 may be installed, or the number of people that can use it at any one time.

• Starter and Personal Editions

A Starter or Personal Edition of Astrobe for Cortex-M3 may be installed on one or more computers but may only be used by the single person in whose name it is registered. It is licensed for non-commercial / non-profit use only.

• Professional Edition

A Professional Edition of Astrobe for Cortex-M3 may be installed on one or more computers but may only be used by the single person in whose name it is registered. It is licensed for commercial use.

DISCLAIMER

Astrobe for Cortex-M3 is used entirely at the risk of the user. Although great care has been taken to eliminate defects during the development of Astrobe for Cortex-M3, it is not claimed to be fault-free. No claims are made regarding its correctness, reliability or fitness for any particular purpose. The Author shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages, loss of data or personal injury in connection with furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

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7. Ordering Information

7.1 Evaluation Edition

You may use the evaluation edition of Astrobe for Cortex-M3 for a period of up to 30 days to allow you to try it before you buy it.  It has all of the IDE and library features of the Personal and Professional Editions except that applications are limited in size to 32kb of code.  This limit allows for the development of programs and their imported modules containing a total of approximately 2000 lines of Oberon source code.

You are allowed to distribute the evaluation edition. It may be given away to anyone, included on CD-ROM libraries, uploaded to WWW pages, ftp sites and bulletin boards, etc. as long as it is distributed in its complete original form.
 

7.2 Starter, Personal and Professional Editions

The Starter, Personal and Professional Editions have additional features and benefits - see the Astrobe for Cortex-M3 Feature Matrix on the Astrobe website for the latest details.

On-line credit card orders are automatically processed in realtime. When your credit card transaction has been successfully processed an email will be sent to you by the end of the next working day with details of how to download and install the full version of the software.

For details of prices and alternative payment options and to place an order click on Order Astrobe on-line or go to the Astrobe website at:

www.astrobe.com

and then select Order from the menu. Follow the instructions there.

Note: DO NOT distribute the Starter, Personal or Professional Editions of Astrobe for Cortex-M3 without the expressed written consent of the author.


7.3 Refund Policy

CFB Software's products are provided as evaluation editions that can be downloaded via the CFB Software website. Use the Evaluation Edition to ensure that it is compatible with your computer systems and satisfy all of your requirements before purchasing a Starter, Personal or Professional Edition license.  All sales are final. Once the access details for a Starter, Personal or Professional Edition has been issued they cannot be cancelled. Thus we are only able to provide refunds for accidental duplicate orders.

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8. Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Niklaus Wirth for providing the original Oberon source code of the ARM compiler, linker, MAU and FPU libraries that formed the basis of the corresponding components of Astrobe; for his permission to include the Oberon Language Report with distributions of Astrobe and for his valuable support and encouragement during its development.

Chris Burrows
Development Manager
CFB Software

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