On Wed, Mar 08, 2000 at 04:52:16PM -0600, Matt Porter wrote:
> I'm looking for recommendations on a programmer that can handle most
> Flash parts. I need 29F040 32 pin PLCC's handled for my current
> project but it would be wise to get something versatile for the
> future.
Here's a summary of what I learned. I have been porting Linux to boards
with a feature-rich firmware for so long that I lost touch with the current
state of the low-level tools available.
Programmers:
------------
The Data I/O units have a terminal mode and an onboard floppy so they could
be used from Linux without a problem.
The general consensus is that anything with serial/parallel support and a
DOS binary should be able to be used from DOSEMU. There are some options
to allow direct parport access so RTFM on dosemu. VMWare hosting one of
these should be no problem at all based on my experience with it.
JTAG Debuggers:
---------------
Since I'm doing full board bringup (no firmware) on known good hardware it
was suggested that I look at a few JTAG Debuggers. My board is a PowerPC
603e or 740 w/ a JTAG emulation port.
Abatron (http://www.abatron.ch) has an ideal BDM/JTAG emulation solution
for Linux hosting. It is an Ethernet-based unit which has a telnet
interface with which one can program various popular flash parts.
Obviously, this is ideal for Linux since one can build a kernel and
expect script the programming process automagically. They provide an
interface to GDB to do source level debugging. It is ~2300USD but
unfortunately did not support the Motorola MPC740 part on my board. Most
popular embedded processors are supported though, they just didn't have
the right info for Motorola 6xx/7xx processors (IBM's work).
ESTC (http://www.estc.com and recently bought by WindRiver Systems) has
a shrinkwrapped solution for Linux. They've ported their VisionXD UNIX
debugger to Linux and it is available with their parallel port of Ethernet
based probe. It can program flash parts and do source level debugging.
It costs $6k or $8k depending on parport or Ethernet connection. The
Windoze version is only $4k. :-/
Macraigor (http://www.macraigor.com a web site only a mother could love) has
a Raven parallel port probe for many different embedded processors. They
currently only have Windoze software, but the assembly level debugger is
free. Windoze flash programming software costs another 400USD on top of
the Raven unit for 750USD. The reason I mention this is that I am
evaluating this system from within VMWare since the cost difference between
this solution an ESTC's is staggering. Additionally, they might be
willing to send a free Raven and their current GDB support stubs to
anyone willing to work with them on their Linux support. I don't have
time to get "on the hook" with them so I just bought a unit to use under
VMWare for now.
Pre-sales support from Macraigor and Abatron has been excellent. ESTC
hasn't been extremely enthusiastic about providing anything more than
glossy PDF brochures...their sales rep for my region waxed on about
WindRiver's dominance in the embedded marketplace. :)
Hope this helps anybody else looking at this stuff.
--
Matt Porter
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
This is Linux Country. On a quiet night, you can hear Windows reboot.
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