Hi µTasker users!

Best wishes for the New Year!!

2006 was an interesting year, with the µTasker project being offered for the first time to a users community - including hobby, educational and also commercial users. Initially it was released for the Freescale^TM M9S12NE64, which had been used internally since the end of 2004 for various projects and as the basis for the development of the TCP/IP support in the present project. The µTasker operating system and driver support itself goes back several more years where it had been used on various processors for numerous embedded system projects in a form more or less resembling the present day version.

In May 2006 a version for the ATMEL^TM AT91SAM7X was released together with a first version for the Freescale^TM M5223X (Coldfire). There followed a couple of intermediate versions, adding UART support for the newer devices as well a few other additional features available as Beta versions. The user base grew healthily as so did the feedback and ideas for further development. We have established a base of over 100 projects whereas the Freescale^TM NE64 is used in about 50% of the total, with the Coldfire and SAM7X battling it out for second place - here it is however worth noting that the M5223X is showing very strong acceptance in new projects and is likely to overtake the NE64 in quite a short time; a number of NE64 users are also upgrading to the Coldfire.

A unique feature has always been the µTasker simulator. Although it is not used by all, it has nevertheless established itself as a serious development tool in a number of equally serious projects, including all of our own projects - without exception! - enabling vastly improved development efficiency. Some users have confirmed that they have been able to develop and maintain their project(s) almost exclusively from the simulator environment and a number of educational establishments are using it or have plans to use it in their classes. We are very pleased and motivated by this fact and the simulator remains central to the further development of the project.


So what is new?

Behind the scenes there has been a lot of activity and finally dates for the next µTasker release are available. There is a lot of new stuff and we are really excited about the prospects and the advantages for the new version. It is the result of the feedback from user experiences, suggestions and requirements, and represents a big step forward for several reasons.

1. Cleaner code: the entire code has been reviewed and many tests been made for compatibility with many set up options. Various improvements were made, typedefs and defines optimised to allow the user to optimally control the project.
2. Improved project structure: the project structure has been optimised to allow clearer configuration and better set up control of multiple projects and projects running on different processors and boards.
3. Integration of keypad and LCD support into the main project (fully user definable).
4. Improved test support for inputs - board setups can be configured to match hardware pull-ups and pull downs and inputs and interrupts exercised by simple mouse click.
5. Improved simulation support for peripherals, including information concerning the pin number, possible peripheral functions per port pin and the presently set function (see the start page on the web site www.uTasker.com for an example screen shot). I have already found this of great use in new developments!
6. New HTTP post support and handling of different file types as well as various enhancements for general web serving.
7. Extended demo features showing use of various protocols and options.
8. Distributed system support (this allows multiple hardware nodes to be used to run the software on, where communication between tasks is transparent to the user - they can either be local to the node or located on different nodes).
9. Various bug fixes for long term stability, including respecting latest workarounds for chip errata.

We have been working with the new version for some time and have experienced the advantages that it offers. If your own project is not too advanced or if you are planning to start a new project shortly, then I recommend the move. Apart from a few exceptions, the application interface is compatible and upgrading is usually straight forward - the new demo project has been adapted and so serves as reference when in doubt. [The only exception is when the operating system, stack or driver code has been changed by the user. In this case it will probably be necessary to take the new base and re-apply the modifications.]

Another point to note when considering the upgrade is that the new version V1.3 is prepared for new devices to be added this year (specifically the ST^TM STR91XF and the NXP^TM LPC23XX - more about these later) and so ensures compatibility in case of processor changes as well as new features which will be made available (again more about these below).


So what is the present state and when are the release dates?

It is difficult to make a new release for several reasons - there is a lot to test and there are always new changes which you would like to squeeze in at the last minute (you probably know this from every day projects as well). But the original goals have now been achieved and the code has been tested on all devices, so it is basically ready for general use. A new tutorial including details of the extra features in the demo project will have to be prepared for each processor, so the following dates have been decided on for the release of each package (this gives you a date to plan with, us a little time to finalise each package including documentation and puts a stop to any last-minute "feature-creep").

- M5223X V1.3 will be released on 8.1.2007
- NE64 V1.3 will be released on 15.1.2007
- SAM7X V1.3 will be released on 22.1.2007

Registered users with a valid support contract will automatically receive a link with password to their new package on the release date. Evaluation users are offered a new evaluation period on request.


What will 2007 bring?

One thing is for sure: There is a lot of work to do. The world economy has picked up and the amount of new developments is impressive. The Internet capabilities of the µTasker project and its simulators remote debugging support has already enabled a variety of projects to be worked on and maintained at various locations around the world, and we are convinced that this is a good thing and will continue to promote it. We are also committed to giving the best support to the µTasker users as possible; whether helping with installation difficulties or network problems, choosing the best processor type for a project or checking designs, giving tips to solving project problems or actively working on the developments of project code, adding new features or resolving deficiencies - all are important jobs which we enjoy performing and which ultimately result in a better platform for all users.

We are also keeping our eyes open for new processor types which will fit into the µTasker concept - single chip embedded devices with LAN/Internet capabilities. Two have been ear marked for introduction into the program and preparations have begun - development boards, samples and debuggers have been organised for the ST^TM STR91XF and the NXP (formerly Philips) LPC23XX families. These devices have already been integrated into the simulator in version V1.3 and porting work is advancing. It is a little too early to commit to a date to offer these device packages but the present state of advancements suggests some time in February 2007 for the STR91XF and then March or April for the NXP range - but as I said, no commitments. We will do our best...

New devices are not the only tasks on the agenda though. There are various other general features which we would like to include in all packages (where possible) so here is a list of them in more or less the order of priority (priority is governed to some extent by demand so if you have opinions please do tell us of them so that we can continuously review the project plans):

• Passive FTP support
• GNU support for all processor types
• Boot loaders
• USB stack
• SNMP protocol
• PPP
• Encryption

This list is by no means exhaustive and the developments tend to be both project and user driven. This means that I make no promises that these will ever be made available - nor can I promise that the point lowest down on the list will not be available as first new feature, but I can promise continuous development and improvements - hopefully in the direction most appropriate for us all.

I am sure that you all have your own big plans for the New Year and so I wish you a good start and every success with them.

Best regards

Mark

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